Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Other...W-2 also provides for related employment support services and for...
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Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau January, 2017 Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Other Economic Support Programs Informational Paper 43
Transcript of Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Other...W-2 also provides for related employment support services and for...
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau
January, 2017
Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Other
Economic Support Programs
Informational Paper 43
Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Other
Economic Support Programs
Prepared by
John D. Gentry
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau
One East Main, Suite 301
Madison, WI 53703
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1
W-2 Employment Positions .......................................................................................................................... 2
Eligibility .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Placement in Employment Positions ........................................................................................................... 4
Work Requirements and Time Limits ......................................................................................................... 4
Employer Criteria ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Non-displacement Provisions ..................................................................................................................... 9
Cash Benefits .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Payment Procedures .................................................................................................................................. 11
Child Support ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Other Economic Support Benefits ............................................................................................................ 11
Worker's Compensation ............................................................................................................................ 11
Work Experience Drug Testing and Treatment .......................................................................................... 12
Child Care Under W-2 ................................................................................................................................ 13
Child Care Subsidy Program .................................................................................................................... 13
Indirect Child Care Services ..................................................................................................................... 23
Other W-2 Benefits and Services ................................................................................................................ 27
Job Access Loans ...................................................................................................................................... 27
Transportation Assistance ......................................................................................................................... 28
Pregnant Women ....................................................................................................................................... 28
Minor Custodial Parents ........................................................................................................................... 28
Assistance Payments Exempt from Levy .................................................................................................. 29
Sanctions, Dispute Resolution, Earnings Check, and Overpayments and Fraud ........................................ 29
Sanctions ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Dispute Resolution .................................................................................................................................... 30
Earnings Verification ................................................................................................................................ 31
Overpayments and Fraud .......................................................................................................................... 31
Other Related Programs .............................................................................................................................. 33
Transform Milwaukee and Transitional Jobs Program ............................................................................. 33
FoodShare Wisconsin ............................................................................................................................... 34
Kinship Care ............................................................................................................................................. 35
SSI Caretaker Supplement ........................................................................................................................ 36
BadgerCare Plus........................................................................................................................................ 36
Learnfare ................................................................................................................................................... 36
Children First ............................................................................................................................................ 37
Emergency Assistance .............................................................................................................................. 37
Eligibility for Other Programs .................................................................................................................. 39
W-2 Administration .................................................................................................................................... 39
Contracting Process .................................................................................................................................. 40
Contract Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 40
Performance Standards ............................................................................................................................. 42
Payment under the Current W-2 Agency Contracts .................................................................................. 42
Program Funding and Participation ............................................................................................................ 44
Program Funding ...................................................................................................................................... 44
2015-17 Revenues and Expenditures ........................................................................................................ 44
Program Participation ............................................................................................................................... 49
Additional W-2 Caseload Information ...................................................................................................... 53
Child Care Participation ............................................................................................................................ 54
List of Attachments
Attachment 1 Maximum Child Care Reimbursement Rates .................................................................. 55
Attachment 2 2015 Market Survey of Licensed Group Child Care Providers ...................................... 58
Attachment 3 2015 Market Survey of Licensed Family Child Care Providers ..................................... 60
Attachment 4 Child Care Copayment Schedule Effective March 6, 2016 ............................................ 62
Attachment 5 Child Care Copayment Schedule for EBT Implementation ............................................ 63
Attachment 6 W-2 Paid Placements By County .................................................................................... 64
Attachment 7 W-2 Participants by Age ................................................................................................. 65
Attachment 8 Number of Children in W-2 Assistance Groups ............................................................. 66
Attachment 9 Interaction Between W-2 and Other Programs ............................................................... 67
Appendices
Appendix A: Nonfinancial Eligibility Requirements for W-2 Employment Positions
and Job Access Loans ...................................................................................................................... 68
Appendix B: General Provisions Regarding Use of Federal Funding under the Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families Program and the Child Care Development Block Grant ................................. 70
TANF Funding ................................................................................................................................ 70
Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) Requirements ................................................................................. 78
Contingency Fund ........................................................................................................................... 79
Federal Child Care Program and Funding ....................................................................................... 80
1
Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Other
Economic Support Programs
Introduction
The temporary assistance for needy families
(TANF) program funds public assistance benefits
with federal block grants to states. The TANF
program allows states to develop, operate, and
implement their own public assistance programs.
In order to receive federal funding, states must
submit a plan describing how the state will con-
duct its statewide TANF program in conformance
with federal regulations (such as work require-
ments and time limits on recipients of TANF
benefits). States are also required to contribute
state funds under maintenance-of-effort provi-
sions.
Previously, public assistance for families with
children in need had been provided under the aid
to families with dependent children (AFDC) pro-
gram beginning in 1935. However, in 1996, the
federal government enacted P.L. 104-193, the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act, which replaced the AFDC
program with TANF. TANF eliminated the fed-
eral entitlement to public assistance that was pre-
viously provided.
At the state level, Wisconsin implemented a
number of welfare reform initiatives beginning in
1987, leading to the replacement of the AFDC
program in Wisconsin. The new program began
statewide on September 1, 1997, and is referred
to as "Wisconsin Works" (W-2). Some recipients
continued to receive benefits under the AFDC
program until March, 1998, when the AFDC pro-
gram ended.
The Department of Children and Families
(DCF) administers the W-2 program and other
economic support and work programs based on
provisions under Chapter 49 of the state's stat-
utes. At the local level, individual W-2 agencies
under contract with DCF are responsible for pro-
gram administration, although DCF issues W-2
benefits as a direct state activity.
As shown in Table 1, TANF-related program
expenditures totaled $566.5 million in 2015-16.
Program expenditures include state and local ad-
ministration, several types of benefit payments,
child care assistance, and other support services.
State general purpose revenue (GPR) expendi-
tures for the program totaled $159.8 million.
Federal funding (FED) includes the federal
TANF block grant, child care block grant fund-
ing, one-time TANF contingency funding, and
other federal funding. The program revenue (PR)
is primarily from child support collections as-
signed to the state by public assistance recipients
and child care licensing fees. The segregated rev-
enue (SEG) is from low-income public benefits
funding, which is appropriated to DCF to support
TANF programs. A detailed listing of these reve-
nues and expenditures is provided in this paper
under "Program Funding and Participation."
Table 1: W-2 and Other TANF-Funded Programs
Total Expenditures (2015-16) GPR $159,781,600
FED 387,085,500 PR 10,513,900
SEG 9,139,700
Total $566,520,700
The remainder of this paper provides detailed
information regarding W-2 employment positions,
child care subsidies, other benefits, and program
administration. In addition, information is present-
ed concerning FoodShare (formerly food stamps),
kinship care, the caretaker supplement, and other
related programs. Data on program funding, ex-
2
penditures, and participation are also provided.
Finally, Appendix B outlines the restrictions that
apply to the use of federal TANF and child care
funds and the types of state expenditures that may
be counted toward the TANF maintenance-of-
effort requirement.
W-2 Employment Positions
W-2 is a work-based program providing train-
ing and support services to assist low-income par-
ents to obtain permanent and stable employment.
W-2 also provides for related employment support
services and for cash assistance to eligible fami-
lies. Local W-2 agencies help applicants partici-
pate in work preparation activities, find or keep
jobs, and pay for the costs of maintaining em-
ployment. Eligibility for the program does not en-
title an individual to any service or benefit.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for a W-2 employment
position for any month, an individual must meet
the nonfinancial and financial eligibility require-
ments described below. Most of those require-
ments are set by statute; however, DCF rules es-
tablish additional eligibility criteria.
Nonfinancial Eligibility Requirements. An
individual must meet certain nonfinancial
eligibility requirements. The main requirements
are summarized below. All nonfinancial eligibility
requirements are fully described in Appendix A.
1. The individual is a custodial parent who
has attained the age of 18.
2. The individual is a U.S. citizen or
qualifying alien.
3. The individual resides in Wisconsin.
4. Every parent of the individual's W-2
group (the individual, his or her spouse or
nonmarital coparent, and any dependent children
and children of dependent children who reside
together) fully cooperates in efforts to establish
paternity of the dependent child and obtain
support payments, unless it is determined that the
parent has good cause for not cooperating.
5. The individual has made a good faith ef-
fort to obtain employment and has not refused a
bona fide job offer within the 180 days immediate-
ly preceding the application for W-2 services.
6. The individual is not receiving federal or
state supplemental security income (SSI)
payments or federal social security disability
insurance (SSDI) payments. If the individual is a
dependent child, the custodial parent of the
individual may not be receiving an SSI caretaker
supplement payment on behalf of the individual.
7. No other individual in the W-2 group is a
participant in a W-2 employment position. This
provision does not apply to an individual applying
for a job access loan (described below).
8. The individual assigns to the state any
right of the individual or of any dependent child of
the individual to support or maintenance from any
other person that accrues during the time that any
W-2 benefit is paid to the individual.
Financial Eligibility Requirements. An
individual also must meet all of the following
financial eligibility requirements in order to
qualify for a W-2 employment position.
Resource Limitation. The individual is a mem-
ber of a W-2 group whose assets do not exceed
$2,500 in combined equity value, excluding the
equity value of vehicles up to a total value of
$10,000 and one home that serves as the group's
homestead.
Income Limitation. The individual is a member
of a W-2 group whose gross income is at or below
3
115% of the federal poverty level (FPL) ($23,184
for a family of three in 2016). The following
sources of income are included in calculating
gross income:
1. All earned and unearned income of the
individual, except for: (a) benefits received for
participation in a W-2 employment position, par-
ent of infant grant, or high-risk pregnancy grant;
(b) kinship care and foster care payments received
for children who are not included in the W-2
group; (c) federal and state earned income tax
credits and any federal income tax refund; (d) spe-
cific types of loans, in-kind income, and vendor
payments; (e) income earned by a dependent child
of an individual; (f) child support payments; and
(g) federal or state student financial aid or any
scholarship used for tuition and books.
2. The income of a nonmarital coparent or of
the individual's spouse, if the spouse resides in the
same home as the dependent child.
In addition, under rules promulgated by DCF
and in accordance with federal law, if the indi-
vidual is a sponsored alien, the resources of the
sponsor and the income of the sponsor and his or
her spouse are attributed to the individual.
The definition of gross income under current
law suggests a very broad measure of income.
However, under administrative rules, any income
from sources that are required to be disregarded by
federal or state law for purposes of determining
eligibility for means-tested programs must not be
counted as income. These sources include food
stamps, Indian tribal settlements, low-income en-
ergy assistance, and the women, infants, and chil-
dren program.
Lifetime Limit. Under federal law, the length
of time an adult in a W-2 group may receive
TANF assistance is limited to a total of 60 months.
State law sets a 48-month participation limit for
W-2 employment positions. The adult member
with the greatest number of accumulated months
counts against the W-2 group's participation limit.
The participation limit includes all months in
which the individual has received benefits under a
subsidized W-2 employment position, actively
participated in the AFDC job opportunities and
basic skills (JOBS) program on or after October
1996, or received benefits in Wisconsin or any
other state that were funded by federal TANF dol-
lars. The participation limit begins running when
the individual attains the age of 18. However, time
does not accumulate while an adult lives on a fed-
erally recognized Indian reservation if the reserva-
tion population is greater than 1,000 and at least
50% of adults are unemployed. The months in
which an individual receives a reduced or no W-2
benefit due to a sanction also count toward the
time limit.
The 48-month time limit may be extended if
the W-2 agency, subject to DCF review,
determines that the individual is experiencing
hardship or that the individual's family includes
an individual who has been battered or subjected
to extreme cruelty. As of September, 2016, there
were 763 active extension cases in the W-2
program.
Review of Eligibility. W-2 agencies are re-
quired to review an individual's eligibility periodi-
cally (except for individuals receiving follow-up
case management services, which are provided
regardless of income and assets). The individual
remains eligible until the W-2 group's assets or
income is expected to exceed the respective limits
described above for at least two consecutive
months.
Prospective Budgeting. Rather than determin-
ing eligibility based on the family's actual assets
and income in prior months, DCF uses prospective
budgeting for both initial eligibility determinations
and reviews of eligibility. Under prospective
budgeting, the financial and employment planner
at the local W-2 agency estimates the income and
assets that will be available to the family in future
4
months. Income and assets are considered una-
vailable when the individual can reasonably doc-
ument that they cannot be accessed for 31 or more
days. Except for follow-up case management ser-
vices, a W-2 group must be prospectively ineligi-
ble for two consecutive months before the case
closes.
Placement in Employment Positions
Administrative rules require local W-2 agen-
cies to schedule and hold a personal interview
with the applicant no later than five working days
after receiving a signed application. The applicant
will then have seven working days to provide any
requested information. The financial and employ-
ment planner in the W-2 agency who is assigned
to an individual is required to assess and deter-
mine eligibility within seven working days after
the meeting with the applicant. The planner must
make a placement decision within 12 working
days from receipt of the application. However, the
financial and employment planner may extend the
application process to 30 days if the applicant
needs extra time to meet verification requirements.
The financial and employment planner is re-
quired to develop a written employability plan, in
consultation with the W-2 participant, which in-
cludes the participant's W-2 employment position
placement, required activities, and an identified
goal for obtaining unsubsidized employment. In
determining appropriate placement for a partici-
pant, priority first must be given to placement in
unsubsidized employment and providing case
management services, followed in order by trial
employment match program (TEMP) jobs, com-
munity service jobs (CSJ), and transitional place-
ments. Each of these employment positions is de-
scribed in more detail below.
W-2 agencies are also required to conduct an
educational needs assessment of each individual
who applies for a W-2 employment position. If the
individual and the W-2 agency determine that the
individual needs, or would benefit from, education
or training, and if the W-2 agency determines that
the individual is eligible for a W-2 employment
position, the W-2 agency must include education
or training activities in any employability plan de-
veloped for the individual. If the agency deter-
mines the appropriate placement for the individual
is unsubsidized employment or a TEMP job, and
the individual needs basic education and wishes to
participate, then the agency will include basic ed-
ucation in the employability plan and cover the
cost.
Work Requirements and Time Limits
Federal law governing the use of TANF dol-
lars imposes certain work participation rates on
states and individuals. The state must ensure that
minimum participation rates are met, and indi-
viduals receiving TANF assistance are subject to
work requirements.
Under state law, participants in each of the
W-2 employment positions must meet certain
work requirements and are subject to the time
limits described below. The work requirements for
each type of employment position are summarized
in Table 2.
Unsubsidized Employment. As a condition of
eligibility, an individual who applies for a W-2
employment position may be required by the W-2
agency to participate in job orientation or a search
for unsubsidized employment while the applica-
tion is being processed.
All participants in W-2 employment positions
or who are receiving case management services
are required to search for unsubsidized employ-
ment throughout their participation. They may be
required to engage in training activities as well.
The agency is required to assist a participant in his
or her search for unsubsidized employment.
W-2 agencies are authorized to provide case
management services to an applicant in lieu of
placing that individual in an employment position
5
if the W-2 agency determines all of the following:
(a) the individual meets the W-2 eligibility re-
quirements; (b) the individual is willing to work
and has no barriers to employment that cannot be
addressed with W-2 services; (c) the individual is
job-ready, based on the individual's employment
history or education; and (d) the most appropriate
placement for the individual is in unsubsidized
employment. W-2 agencies are required to review
the placement every 30 days to determine whether
the individual should be moved into a W-2 em-
ployment position.
For individuals who move from a subsidized
employment position to an unsubsidized job, W-2
agencies must provide follow-up case manage-
ment services for at least 12 months. These ser-
vices include: employment skills training; job re-
tention services; English as a second language
classes; a course of study meeting the standards
for granting a declaration of equivalency of high
school graduation; or other remedial education
courses. These services are provided regardless of
income and assets.
Trial Employment Match Program. Under
previous state law, W-2 trial job positions provid-
ed work experience and training to assist partici-
pants to move into unsubsidized employment.
W-2 agencies would pay a wage subsidy to an
employer if that employer employed a participant
in a trial job and agreed to make good faith efforts
to retain the participant as a permanent, unsubsi-
dized employee after the wage subsidy was termi-
nated. The employer was also required to provide
worker's compensation coverage.
The trial job wage subsidy could not exceed
$300 per month for full-time employment of a
participant. For less than full-time employment,
the $300 maximum wage subsidy was reduced to
reflect the number of hours actually worked in
proportion to full-time employment.
Trial jobs could include educational and
training activities prescribed by the employer as an
integral part of the work performed in the trial job
placement. The hours spent participating in such
activities counted towards the number of hours
actually worked.
A W-2 participant could participate in a trial
job for a maximum of three months, with an
opportunity for a three-month extension under
circumstances determined by the W-2 agency. An
individual could participate in more than one trial
Table 2: Grant Amounts and Work Requirements for W-2 Paid Positions
Maximum Maximum Maximum
Grant or Wage Hours of Educ. &
Type of W-2 Position Per Month work Training
At least Incl. in
Trial Employment Match min. wage N.A. work hrs.
Community Service Job $653 40 10
Transitional Placement 608 40 12
Technical College Program - CSJ 653 25 15
Technical College Program
- Transitional Placement 608 25 15
Caretaker of Infant 673 0 0
At-Risk Pregnant Woman 673 0 0
Two-Parent Families* 653 55
*Grant amount for two-parent families is based on the W-2 position for the participant parent. The 55-hour
requirement applies to both parents combined and includes unsubsidized or subsidized employment, work
experience, on-the-job training, or community service program and education activities.
N.A. = Not applicable
6
job, but generally could not exceed a total of 24
months of participation in all trial job placements,
which did not need to be consecutive. DCF, or the
W-2 agency with DCF's approval, could grant an
extension of the 24-month limit on a case-by-case
basis if the participant had made all appropriate
efforts to find unsubsidized employment and local
labor market conditions precluded a reasonable
job opportunity for that participant, as determined
by the agency and approved by DCF.
Effective January 1, 2014, 2013 Act 20 re-
placed trial jobs with the similar trial employer
match program. As amended by the 2015-17
budget act (2015 Act 55), all the provisions of the
prior law for trial jobs have been retained, except
for three revisions. First, W-2 agencies now nego-
tiate the wage subsidy with the employer. The
amount of the subsidy must be no more than the
minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour) for
each hour that the participant actually works, up to
a maximum of 40 hours per week. W-2 agencies
also negotiate reimbursement to the employer for
all or a portion of other costs that are attributable
to the employment of a TEMP participant, includ-
ing: (a) federal social security and Medicare taxes;
(b) state and federal unemployment contributions
or taxes; and (c) worker's compensation insurance
premiums.
Second, if a participant is not retained after the
wage subsidy ends, an employer must either serve
as an employment reference or provide to the W-2
agency a written performance evaluation of the
participant, including recommendations for im-
provement.
Third, participation is now limited to six
months per TEMP job with an opportunity for a
three-month extension. The 24-month limit on
participation remains the same.
DCF implemented TEMP positions in March,
2016. As of September 30, 2016, there were 13
TEMP positions for custodial parents and 9
positions for non-custodial parents. TEMP
placements for custodial parents are available in
the City of Beloit and Dane, Kenosha, Milwaukee,
and Racine Counties. TEMP placements for non-
custodial parents are available on a pilot basis in
Dane, Marathon, and Milwaukee Counties.
Community Service Jobs. Community
service jobs are intended to provide work
experience and training to assist participants to
move into unsubsidized employment or a TEMP
placement. Community service jobs are limited to
projects that DCF determines would serve a useful
public purpose or to projects whose cost is
partially or wholly offset by revenue generated by
such projects.
Community service jobs may include educa-
tion and training assigned as part of an employa-
bility plan developed by the W-2 agency. Such
educational and training activities are defined by
DCF by rule and include a course of study for
GED or high school equivalency, technical college
courses, and educational courses that provide an
employment skill. Permissible educational and
training activities also include employer-
sponsored training, English as a second language,
and basic educational courses that the W-2 agency
determines would facilitate the individual's efforts
to obtain employment.
The W-2 agency may determine an appropriate
number of work hours for a participant at the time
of application or review. However, the W-2 agen-
cy may not require a participant to spend more
than 40 hours per week in combined work and ed-
ucational activities, with a maximum limit of 10
hours per week in educational and training activi-
ties.
W-2 agencies may also require individuals to
participate in an initial two-week assessment and
motivational training program, including training
on parenting skills, as part of the required
activities. Participation in such programs may not
exceed 40 hours per week and satisfies the work,
education, and training requirements during the
7
initial two-week period.
A W-2 agency is required to allow 18- and 19-
year old individuals who have not obtained a high
school diploma or declaration of equivalency of
high school graduation to attend high school or
enroll in a course of study meeting the standards
for the granting of a declaration of equivalency of
high school education. Participation in such
educational activities must be counted, in whole or
in part, toward satisfying the work, educational,
and training requirements under a W-2 community
service job.
Community service jobs are available on a
part-time basis for participants working in unsub-
sidized employment for less than 30 hours per
week who have limitations to increasing their
hours or obtaining additional jobs. Activities and
payments assigned to participants are prorated at a
level of one-third, one-half, or two-thirds of a
placement for a full-time, 40-hour community ser-
vice job. The total combined number of hours of
activities and unsubsidized employment must not
exceed 40 hours per week. Activities must be spe-
cifically designed to assist the participants with
overcoming their employment limitations within a
reasonable time period.
An individual may participate in a community
service job for a maximum of six months, with an
opportunity for a three-month extension under cir-
cumstances approved by DCF. After each six
months of an individual's participation in a com-
munity service job and at the conclusion of each
community service job assignment, the W-2 agen-
cy must reassess the individual's employability.
An individual may participate in more than one
community service job, but generally may not ex-
ceed a total of 24 months of participation in all
community service job placements, which need
not be consecutive.
DCF, or the W-2 agency with DCF's approval,
may grant an extension of the 24-month time limit
on a case-by-case basis if the participant has made
all appropriate efforts to find unsubsidized em-
ployment and has been unable to do so because
local labor market conditions preclude a reasona-
ble job opportunity for that participant. In addi-
tion, the W-2 agency, with DCF's approval, must
also determine that no TEMP opportunities are
available.
Transitional Placements. Transitional place-
ments are meant for individuals who are unable to
perform independent, self-sustaining work due to
barriers to employment, such as alcohol and drug
abuse, medical or physical problems, and learning
disabilities. In order to be eligible for a W-2 tran-
sitional placement, an individual must meet one or
more of the following eligibility requirements in
addition to the financial and nonfinancial eligibil-
ity requirements outlined above.
1. The W-2 agency determines, on the basis
of an independent assessment by the Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation in the Department of
Workforce Development (DWD), or similar
agency or business, that the individual has been
incapacitated for a period of at least 60 days or
will be incapacitated for a period of at least 60
days;
2. The W-2 agency determines that the indi-
vidual is needed in the home because of the illness
or incapacity of another member of the W-2
group; or
3. The W-2 agency determines that the indi-
vidual is incapable of performing a TEMP posi-
tion or community service job.
The W-2 agency is required to assign a W-2
transitional placement participant to work activi-
ties such as a community rehabilitation program or
a job similar to a community service job or a vol-
unteer activity. A transitional placement may also
include the same education and training activities
as are allowed for community service jobs.
In addition, the agency may require participa-
8
tion in any of the following: (a) an alcohol and
other drug abuse evaluation, prescribed assess-
ment, and treatment program; (b) mental health
activities such as evaluation, therapy, and medica-
tion management; (c) counseling or physical reha-
bilitation activities; or (d) other activities that the
W-2 agency determines are consistent with the
individual's capabilities.
Transitional placements may be required to
engage in work activities (including the drug and
alcohol assessment, mental health, counseling, and
physical rehabilitation activities identified above)
and education and training activities for no more
than 40 hours per week, with a limit on the educa-
tion and training activities of 12 hours per week.
The education and training activities must be as-
signed as part of an employability plan developed
by the W-2 agency.
Similar to community service job placements,
W-2 agencies may also require individuals to par-
ticipate in an initial two-week assessment and mo-
tivational training program, which counts toward
the individual's work and training requirements.
An individual may participate in a transitional
placement for a maximum of 24 months, which
need not be consecutive. The 24-month period
may be extended on a case-by-case basis by DCF
or the W-2 agency with DCF's approval.
Technical College Program for Community
Service Job and Transitional Placements.
Community service job and transitional place-
ments may include participation in a technical col-
lege program for a maximum of two years.
All of the following requirements must be met
to participate in the technical college program: (a)
the W-2 agency, in consultation with the commu-
nity steering committee required under W-2 and
the technical college district board, determines that
the technical college education program is likely
to lead to employment; (b) the participant main-
tains full-time status in the technical college edu-
cation program, as determined by the technical
college, and regularly attends all classes; (c) the
participant maintains a grade point average of at
least 2.0, or the equivalent as determined by the
technical college; and (d) the participant is em-
ployed or engages in work under a community
service job or transitional placement for 25 hours
per week.
The W-2 agency is required to work with the
community steering committee and the technical
college district board to monitor the participant's
progress and the effectiveness of the program in
leading to employment.
Two-Parent Families. Under state law, and
in accordance with federal law, if one parent in a
two-parent custodial family is participating in a
W-2 employment position, the second parent is
generally required to participate in unsubsidized
or subsidized employment, work experience, on-
the-job training, or community service programs.
In addition, the W-2 agency is required to create
an employability plan for the second parent. The
family does not receive any additional W-2 cash
assistance for the work performed by the second
parent.
The second parent is not subject to this work
requirement and the W-2 agency is not required
to create an employability plan if: (a) the family
is not receiving federally-funded child care assis-
tance; (b) the second parent is disabled and re-
ceives disability benefits; or (c) the second parent
is caring for a severely disabled child. The sec-
ond parent can elect to participate in work activi-
ties, even if the W-2 group is not receiving child
care assistance.
If the second parent is subject to the work re-
quirement, the combined number of hours of re-
quired participation in work activities for both
parents is 55 hours per week. In these cases, the
first parent must participate in up to 40 hours of
W-2 activities. This means that the second parent
would be assigned to at least 15 hours of work
9
activities.
Employer Criteria
For an employment position to qualify for
TEMP, DCF rules require an employer to do all of
the following: (a) pay the participant the amount
established by contract, but not less than the min-
imum wage for every hour worked; (b) make a
good faith effort to retain the participant as a per-
manent unsubsidized employee after the wage
subsidy is terminated; (c) provide worker's com-
pensation; (d) inform the participant of his or her
eligibility for the federal and state earned income
tax credits; (e) provide the same education and
training opportunities provided to other employ-
ees; and (f) provide a grievance procedure for reg-
ular employees of the worksite to resolve any
complaints related to displacement.
In addition, employers of participants in com-
munity service jobs and transitional jobs must do
all of the following to qualify: (a) provide a struc-
tured work environment that includes close super-
vision and willingness to mentor and coach partic-
ipants to succeed in the workplace; (b) provide a
position that replicates actual conditions of work
and provides responsibilities and expectations
similar to unsubsidized employees of the employ-
er; (c) cooperate with the W-2 agency to provide
verification of the participant's hours of participa-
tion and missed hours; and (d) provide a grievance
procedure for regular employees of the worksite to
resolve any complaints related to displacement.
An employer that does not meet these criteria
is ineligible to receive any subsidy for any posi-
tion provided to the participant.
Non-displacement Provisions
No W-2 employment position or Transform
Milwaukee or transitional job (described below)
may be implemented so as to: (a) have the effect
of filling a vacancy created by an employer termi-
nating a regular employee or otherwise reducing
its work force for the purpose of hiring a W-2 par-
ticipant; (b) fill a position when any other person
is on layoff or strike from the same job or any sub-
stantially equivalent job within the same organiza-
tional unit; or (c) fill a position when any other
person is engaged in a labor dispute regarding the
same or a substantially equivalent job within the
same organizational unit. DCF rules provide a
grievance procedure for resolving complaints in-
volving a violation of these prohibitions.
Cash Benefits
A recipient's monthly benefit amount under
W-2 depends upon the type of placement and the
number of hours worked during the month. Un-
like the AFDC program, there is no family-size
adjustment. The cash benefits for each type of
employment position are summarized above in
Table 2.
Trial Employment Match Program. Partici-
pants in TEMP jobs receive the amount estab-
lished in a contract between the W-2 agency and
the employer. The employer pays participants no
less than the state or federal minimum wage,
whichever is applicable, for every hour worked in
a TEMP placement. Currently, the state and feder-
al minimum wage is generally $7.25 per hour. As
noted above, hours spent participating in educa-
tional and training activities are included in deter-
mining the number of hours worked for TEMP
jobs.
Community Service Jobs. The grant amount
for community service jobs is $653 per month.
The same grant amount applies to community ser-
vice job participants in the technical college pro-
gram.
The grant is reduced by $5.00 for every hour
that a participant misses required work, education-
al, or training activities without good cause. Good
cause is determined by the W-2 agency's financial
and employment planner and includes: (a) a re-
quired court appearance for any reason; (b) una-
10
vailability of child care; (c) lack of transportation;
(d) W-2 group member's illness, injury, disability,
or incapacity; (e) accommodations necessary to
participate are not available to complete the as-
signed activity; (f) conflict with another assigned
W-2 activity or job search attempts; (g) inclement
weather that impedes transportation or travel; (h)
school emergency; (i) domestic violence issues; (j)
death in immediate family; (k) routine medical or
school appointments that cannot be scheduled at
times other than assigned activities; (l) observance
of religious holiday (by participant, child's school,
or employer); and (m) other circumstances beyond
the control of the participant, but only as deter-
mined by the financial and employment planner.
As discussed above, benefit levels are prorated
for participants in community service jobs who are
required to work fewer than 30 hours per week
because the participant has unsubsidized employ-
ment.
Transitional Placements. The monthly grant
amount for transitional placements is $608. The
cash benefit is the same for transitional placements
in the technical college program. The sanctions
described above for community service jobs also
apply to transitional placements.
Custodial Parent of Infant. A participant who
meets the nonfinancial and financial eligibility re-
quirements for a W-2 employment position and
who is a custodial parent of a child who is eight
weeks old or younger is eligible to receive a
monthly grant of $673.
The W-2 agency may not require caretakers of
infants to participate in a W-2 employment posi-
tion. Receipt of a grant under these provisions
does not constitute participation in a W-2 em-
ployment position for purposes of the 48-month
time limit for participation in all W-2 employment
positions, if the child was born less than 10
months after the parent was first determined to be
eligible for a W-2 employment position. If the
child is born more than 10 months after the parent
was first determined to be eligible, receipt of the
grant counts against the time limit unless the child
was conceived as a result of incest or sexual as-
sault.
At-Risk Pregnant Women. An unmarried
woman who would be eligible for a W-2 employ-
ment position except that she is not the custodian
of a dependent child and who is in her third tri-
mester of a medically-verified at-risk pregnancy
such that the woman cannot participate in the
work force is eligible to receive a monthly grant of
$673.
The W-2 agency may not require at-risk preg-
nant women to participate in a W-2 employment
position. Receipt of a grant under these provisions
does not constitute participation in a W-2 em-
ployment position for purposes of the 48-month
time limit for participation in all W-2 employment
positions.
Noncustodial Parents Subject to a Child
Support Order. Noncustodial parents are eligible
for certain services if the following apply. First,
the non-custodial parent must otherwise meet the
W-2 eligibility criteria. Second, the non-custodial
parent is subject to a child support order. Third,
the custodial parent is: (a) receiving case man-
agement services under W-2; (b) participating in a
W-2 employment position; (c) receiving a caretak-
er of a newborn infant or an at-risk pregnant
woman grant; or (d) receiving a child care subsidy
under Wisconsin Shares.
The types of services that may be provided by
the W-2 agency to the non-custodial parent in-
clude: (a) job search assistance and case manage-
ment designed to enable the individual to obtain
and retain employment; (b) placement in one
TEMP job under W-2; or (c) a stipend in an
amount to be determined by the W-2 agency for a
maximum of four months. The stipend ends if the
individual is placed in a TEMP job or obtains un-
subsidized employment.
11
Payment Procedures
Prior to 2013, funding for W-2 cash benefits
was allocated to the local W-2 agencies, who were
responsible for not exceeding those allocations.
Since then, the funding allocated for W-2 benefits
has been statewide and cash benefits have been
paid directly by DCF, such as by check or direct
deposit into a participant's bank account.
Participants in W-2 employment positions re-
ceive payments as shown in Table 3. According to
the DCF W-2 policy manual, the W-2 participa-
tion period is from the 16th
day of a month to the
15th
day of the next month. The W-2 payment is
issued for completed participation on the 30th
day
of the month the participation period ends.
W-2 agencies continue to determine eligibility
for an emergency payment for participants who
are awaiting a first W-2 payment. Emergency
payments are one-time payments designed to
meet an emergency need at the beginning of a
W-2 episode. Emergency payments are not an ad-
ditional W-2 benefit, are not required to be re-
paid, and do not count towards the 48-month par-
ticipation limitation.
Child Support
An individual must assign to the state any
right of the individual or of any dependent child
of the individual to support or maintenance from
any other person that accrues during the time that
any W-2 benefit is paid to the individual. Under
current state law, the state must first pay the fed-
eral government its share of the assigned child
support collected and then pass the remainder of
the support collected through to the W-2 partici-
pant. 2009 Act 28 calculated the federal share,
after consideration of provisions of the federal
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, to be 25%. As a
result, 75% of the assigned child support collect-
ed is passed through to the W-2 participant.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau informational
paper entitled, "Child Support Enforcement Pro-
gram" provides additional information regarding
the pass-through of child support.
Other Economic Support Benefits
In addition to the employment benefits out-
lined above, W-2 participants are eligible for
FoodShare and child care subsidies. Participants
may also be eligible for medical assistance (MA).
Further, participants in unsubsidized employment,
TEMP placements, and other subsidized private
sector employment positions are eligible for the
federal and state earned income tax credits.
Worker's Compensation
For W-2 TEMP jobs, the employer must pro-
vide the participant with worker's compensation
coverage. Participants in community service jobs
and transitional placements are employees of the
W-2 agency for purposes of worker's compensa-
tion coverage, unless the employer provides cov-
erage. A participant in a community service job or
transitional placement who is provided coverage
Table 3: Payment Schedule Examples
Example 1 Example 2
If participation begins: April 7 April 20
Partial payment provided: April 30, for participation May 10, for participation April 20 -
April 7 – April 15. April 30; and May 30, for
participation May 1 – May 15.
First full payment provided: May 30, for participation June 30, for participation May 16 –
April 16 - May 15. June 15.
12
by the W-2 agency and who makes a claim for
worker's compensation may not make a claim or
maintain an action in tort against the employer
who provided the community service job or transi-
tional placement from which the claim arose.
Work Experience Drug Testing and Treatment
The 1996 federal welfare reform law, P.L.
104-193, grants states the option of requiring
drug tests for assistance recipients and providing
substance abuse treatment as a job readiness ac-
tivity. The federal welfare reform law also bars
states from providing TANF assistance to those
convicted of a felony for possession, use, or dis-
tribution of illegal drugs. However, Wisconsin
has modified the ban, as permitted under federal
law.
Wisconsin Works. Individuals applying for a
W-2 employment position or job access loan must
state in writing whether they have been convicted
of a felony that has as an element possession, use,
or distribution of a controlled substance. If a par-
ticipant in a community service job or transitional
placement was convicted in any state or federal
court of such a felony after August 22, 1996, and
within five years of applying for a W-2 employ-
ment position, the W-2 agency must require the
individual to submit to a test for use of a con-
trolled substance as a condition of continued eligi-
bility.
If the test results are positive, the W-2 agency
must decrease the pre-sanction benefit amount for
that participant by up to 15% for at least 12
months, or for the remainder of the participant's
period of participation in the employment posi-
tion, if less than 12 months. If, at the end of 12
months, the individual is still a participant in the
employment position and submits to another test
for the use of controlled substances, and if the re-
sults of the test are negative, the full benefit
amount must be restored.
The W-2 agency may require an individual
who tests positive for use of a controlled substance
to participate in a drug abuse evaluation, assess-
ment, and treatment program as part of the work
or education and training requirements for that
employment position.
Work Experience Programs. 2015 Act 55
provided substance abuse screening, testing, and
treatment as an eligibility requirement for three
work experience programs administered by DCF:
(a) W-2 services for non-custodial parents, includ-
ing W-2 TEMP and stipends; (b) the Transform
Milwaukee and Transitional Jobs programs (de-
scribed below); and (c) children first (also de-
scribed below).
Act 55 created an annual appropriation and
provided $250,000 GPR in 2015-16 and 2016-17
to DCF for drug screening, testing, and treatment
costs. DCF is required to pay for all costs of sub-
stance abuse treatment not otherwise covered by
medical assistance, private insurance, or another
type of coverage.
All new participants are required to complete a
questionnaire that screens for the abuse of a con-
trolled substance. Based on the answers to the
questionnaire, if DCF (or the agency with which
DCF has contracted to administer a work pro-
gram) determines that there is a reasonable suspi-
cion that a participant who is otherwise eligible for
a work program is abusing a controlled substance,
the participant would have to undergo a test for the
use of a controlled substance in order to remain
eligible.
Screening questionnaires have been incorpo-
rated into preexisting application procedures for
DCF's work experience programs. DCF has ap-
proved two screening questionnaires: (a) a four-
question portion of the screening tool used to as-
sess drug use barriers to employment in the W-2
program; and (b) a ten-question form used in
13
Transform Milwaukee since November, 2015, and
in Children First since March, 2016. Three affirm-
ative responses on the questionnaire will trigger
the requirement for drug testing.
If the test is negative for the use of a controlled
substance, the applicant would remain eligible to
participate in the work programs. If the applicant
refuses to submit to a test, the applicant would not
be eligible until the applicant complies with the
requirement to undergo a test for the use of a con-
trolled substance. If the test is positive for use of a
controlled substance without a valid prescription,
then the applicant must participate in substance
abuse treatment to remain eligible.
While undergoing treatment, a participant
would have to submit to random testing for the use
of a controlled substance, and the test results
would have to be negative, or positive with evi-
dence of a valid prescription, in order for the par-
ticipant to remain eligible. If any test results are
positive and the participant does not have a valid
prescription, the participant could restart treatment
one time and remain eligible so long as all subse-
quent test results are negative or positive with a
valid prescription. An additional failed test would
result in the participant becoming ineligible for 12
months.
Table 4 shows the initial results of drug screen-
ing, testing, and treatment through September,
2016.
Child Care under W-2
Wisconsin's child care subsidy program,
known as "Wisconsin Shares," provides child
care assistance for working low-income families
to enable eligible persons to work or to prepare
for employment through W-2, the FoodShare
employment and training (FSET) program, or
through a combination of work and education or
training. Under the program, the state subsidizes
the cost of child care charged by providers cho-
sen by the parent. The parent must pay a copay
amount based on income, family size, and the
number of children in care.
Child Care Subsidy Program
Eligibility Criteria. In order to be eligible for
a child care subsidy, an individual must meet all
of the following conditions, as determined by the
county department or W-2 agency.
Criteria for Parent, Child, and Employment.
To be eligible, the individual must be a custodial
Table 4: Drug Screening, Testing, and Treatment for DCF Work Experience Programs through Septem-
ber, 2016
Applicants/ Referred Refused Referred for Refused Completed
Participants Screened to Testing Testing Treatment Treatment Treatment
Transform Milwaukee
(since 11/09/15) 395 395 15 3 4 1 0
W-2 Noncustodial Parent
Placements (since 3/1/16) 32 32 2 0 1 0 0
Children First (since 3/7/16) 672 671 9 1 1 0 0
Transitional Jobs (since 7/1/16) 6 6 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1,105 1,104 26 4 6 1 0
14
or placement parent of a child under the age of
13. This includes a subsidized guardian, interim
caretaker, legal custodian, person acting in the
place of a parent, person providing kinship care,
or biological, adoptive, or foster parent. Child
care may also be subsidized for children up to the
age of 19 if the child has a documented emotion-
al, behavioral, physical, or personal need requir-
ing more than the usual amount of care and su-
pervision for the child's age.
Further, child care must be needed to do any
of the following:
1. Work in an unsubsidized job, including
training provided by an employer during regular
hours of employment.
2. Work in a W-2 employment position,
including participation in job search, orientation,
education, and training activities.
3. Participate in a job search or work expe-
rience component of the FSET.
4. Participate in a course of study at a tech-
nical college, or participate in educational cours-
es that provide an employment skill, as deter-
mined by DCF, if the W-2 agency determines
that the course would facilitate the individual's
efforts to maintain employment. An individual
may receive a child care subsidy under this pro-
vision for up to two years.
5. Participate in basic education, including
an English as a second language course, literacy
tutoring, or a course of study to obtain a GED if
the W-2 agency determines that basic education
would facilitate the individual's efforts to main-
tain employment. An individual may receive a
child care subsidy under this provision for up to
two years.
6. Obtain a high school diploma or partici-
pate in a course of study to obtain a GED if the
parent is 19 years of age or younger. If the parent
is age 17 or younger, the individual must also
reside with his or her custodial parent, with a kin-
ship care relative, in a foster home, a subsidized
guardianship home, a group home, or an inde-
pendent living arrangement supervised by an
adult.
7. Meet the Learnfare school attendance
requirements.
Income and Resource Criteria. Initial eligibil-
ity for the child care subsidy program is limited
to families with gross income of no more than
185% of FPL ($37,296 for a family of three in
2016). Once eligible, families retain eligibility
until gross income exceeds 200% of FPL for two
consecutive months ($40,320 for a family of
three in 2016). Once a case has been closed for
more than a calendar month, the family must re-
apply using the 185% FPL standard.
Due to changes in federal law introduced by
the Child Care and Development Block Grant
(CCDBG) Act of 2014, (P.L. 113-186), once a
participant is determined eligible for child care
subsidies, federal law requires a minimum
twelve-month eligibility period in which subsi-
dies cannot be terminated for rising above the
state financial eligibility level. Termination of
subsidies will now occur only once the partici-
pant’s income rises above the federal financial
eligibility threshold of 85% of state median in-
come for a family of similar size (the median in-
come was $70,830 for a Wisconsin family of
three in 2015, according to the 2011-2015 Amer-
ican Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bu-
reau).
The definition of gross income is the same as
used for purposes of determining eligibility for
W-2 employment positions, except: (a) the in-
come of farmers and self-employed persons is
adjusted to allow for the subtraction of business
expenses; and (b) child support is included in the
calculation of gross income if the monthly
amount of child support exceeds $1,250. Partici-
pants in the subsidy program are not required to
15
meet the asset limitation requirements that are
required of W-2 employment position partici-
pants.
Foster and kinship care parents (who are car-
ing for a child under court order and receiving
kinship care payments), as well as subsidized
guardians and interim caretakers, may be eligible
to receive a child care subsidy if the natural or
adoptive parent's income at the time the child was
removed from the home was at or below 200% of
the federal poverty level.
In addition to the requirements outlined
above, DCF may establish other eligibility crite-
ria by rule.
Non-Financial Criteria. To be eligible for the
child care subsidy program, the child receiving
care must be a U.S. citizen, or a qualifying alien.
In addition, an individual must
1. Fully cooperate with efforts to establish
paternity for any minor child and in obtaining
support payments for that child.
2. Assign to the state any right of the indi-
vidual to support or maintenance from any other
person when child care is provided for parents
receiving cash assistance under W-2.
3. Furnish the W-2 agency with any rele-
vant information the agency determines is neces-
sary within seven working days after receiving
the request. The time limit may be extended if the
agency determines that seven days would be un-
duly burdensome.
Qualifying Child. In order to prevent improper
claiming of child care, state law places re-
strictions on the use of Wisconsin Shares subsi-
dies for children of child care providers and chil-
dren of employees of child care providers.
First, subsidies may not be used to provide
care for a child who resides with the provider or
is the provider's child.
Second, if the child's parent is a child care
provider, subsidies may not be used for care pro-
vided by a different child care provider who is
not the child's parent. By administrative rule, a
county department or agency may grant a waiver
of this prohibition if: (a) the child has a special
need; (b) the parent is the child's foster parent; (c)
the parent is the child's guardian or interim care-
taker and is receiving subsidized guardianship
payments; (d) the child has been placed with a
kinship care relative under a court order and the
relative is receiving kinship care payments; (e)
the parent is requesting child care assistance in
order to engage in one of the above described
Wisconsin Shares eligible educational or work
activities; or (f) the child's biological parent is a
dependent minor child currently enrolled in high
school and the child and minor parent both reside
with the dependent minor parent's parent, kinship
care relative, guardian, foster parent, or custodi-
an.
Third, DCF cannot distribute subsidy pay-
ments to a certified child care provider for ser-
vices provided to an employee who is either the
parent of the child or a person who resides with
the child. As for licensed providers, payments
will be suspended if more than 40% of the chil-
dren are children of or reside with employees of
the provider. Licensed providers may avoid pay-
ment suspension by altering the mix of children
being cared for within six weeks of exceeding the
40% threshold.
Local Administration of Child Care. For
geographic regions outside of Milwaukee Coun-
ty, DCF may make child care subsidy eligibility
determinations, contract with a county depart-
ment or agency to make eligibility determina-
tions, or contract with a county department or
agency to share in making eligibility determina-
tions. If DCF contracts with a county department
or agency to make eligibility determinations,
such contract must also require the county de-
partment or agency to administrate the child care
subsidy program within its geographical region
16
or tribal unit. DCF may also contract with a
county department or other agency in a particular
geographic area or particular tribal unit for certi-
fication of child care providers.
As part of the administration of child care,
DCF may require the contracted entity to: (a) de-
termine a parent's copayment; (b) determine and
authorize the amount of child care for which an
individual may receive a subsidy; (c) review and
redetermine the financial and nonfinancial eligi-
bility of individuals receiving child care subsi-
dies; and (d) assist eligible individuals to identify
and select appropriate child care. According to
administrative rule, the child care administrative
agency must redetermine the need for service and
eligibility at least every twelve months.
In calendar year 2017, a total of $12.2 million
is allocated for local administration of child care
outside of Milwaukee County. DCF allocated
$10.3 million to counties and tribes for child care
administration, including eligibility determina-
tions, $1.4 million for certification activities, and
$0.5 million for fraud detection and prevention
activities.
To resolve ongoing issues in Milwaukee
County, such as untimely responses to applica-
tions and instances of fraud, 2009 Act 28 re-
quired the state, through DCF, to take over the
child care subsidy program in Milwaukee Coun-
ty. Act 28 authorized DCF to either contract with
the Milwaukee County enrollment services unit
in the Department of Health Services (DHS) or to
establish its own child care provider services
unit.
DCF contracted with the Milwaukee County
enrollment services unit in DHS to determine and
re-determine eligibility for Wisconsin Shares.
DCF also created its own bureau, the Milwaukee
Early Care Administration (MECA), within its
Division of Early Care and Education, to oversee
Wisconsin Shares in Milwaukee County, includ-
ing program integrity and provider certification.
In 2015-16, MECA expended $8.0 million for
the administration of Wisconsin Shares in Mil-
waukee County. Of this amount, $6.3 million was
for administration and certification activities and
$1.7 million was for eligibility determinations.
For 2016-17, MECA is budgeted $8.2 million for
the administration of Wisconsin Shares in Mil-
waukee County ($6.5 million for administration
and certification activities and $1.7 million for
eligibility determinations).
Allowable Child Care Providers. An eligi-
ble parent may use Wisconsin Shares subsidies
with child care providers that are licensed by
DCF, certified by the local administrator for the
county, or established by a school board. Provid-
ers must also participate in the YoungStar pro-
gram, described below, before they can receive
payments under Wisconsin Shares.
Individuals may also use Wisconsin Shares
subsidies for child care that is provided by an
out-of-state provider regulated in accordance
with another state's standards. However, the out-
of-state providers must submit a Wisconsin
Shares participation contract to DCF.
Licensing and Certification. Table 5 shows
the licensed and certified child care capacity in
Wisconsin as of January, 2016. In general, child
care providers must be licensed by DCF in order
to receive compensation for caring for four or
more children under the age of seven. Licensed
group child care centers may provide care for
nine or more children. Licensed family child care
centers, usually operating out of the provider's
home, may provide care for up to eight children.
Licensed day camps may provide care for more
than four children, usually operating seasonally
and outdoors.
Public and private schools are exempt from
licensure. Thus, child care and early education
providers established by or regulated by a school
board are not required to be licensed by DCF.
However, public schools may receive an exemp-
17
tion to receive payments under Wisconsin Shares.
Private schools must be licensed in order to re-
ceive payments under Wisconsin Shares.
Providers caring for three or fewer children
under the age of seven must be certified by the
local administrator in order to receive payment
from Wisconsin Shares. There are two certifica-
tion categories: Level I (regular) family child
care and Level II (provisional) family child care.
In order to receive the Level I payment rate under
Wisconsin Shares, the provider must care for at
least one unrelated child. Further, regularly, but
not provisionally, certified family child care pro-
viders must complete two credits of early child-
hood training or non-credit DCF-approved train-
ing. In order to receive a certification, an appli-
cant may be required to graduate from high
school or obtain a GED. Up to five hours of an-
nual training may also be required.
Both regularly and provisionally certified
providers, and all employees, substitutes, and
volunteers of those providers, must have training
in the most current, medically accepted methods
of preventing sudden infant death syndrome and
shaken baby syndrome.
Criminal History and Background Investiga-
tions. Licensed and certified child care provid-
ers (and their household members age 12 and
older, contractors, and employees) must provide
background information disclosure forms and
fingerprints when applying for the initial issuance
of a child care license, certification, or contract to
operate a child care facility. After initial disclo-
sures, additional background disclosures are only
required for new staff members and non-client
residents. A background information disclosure
form must be completed prior to working with
children for all individuals subject to these re-
quirements.
The required background information that
must be submitted includes: (a) a criminal history
search from the Department of Justice; (b) infor-
mation from the registry of nurses aids main-
tained by DHS; (c) information maintained by the
Department of Safety and Professional Services
regarding the status of the person's credentials;
(d) information maintained by DCF regarding
any final determination (or contested case deci-
sion) of child abuse or neglect against the person;
(e) information regarding the denial of an appli-
cation to operate a child care facility or other
similar entity for the reasons noted above; (f) in-
formation from the sex offender registry; and (g)
in some cases, information maintained by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The De-
partment of Justice may submit fingerprint cards
to the FBI to verify the identity of the person fin-
gerprinted and to obtain the records of his or her
criminal arrests and convictions.
No provider's license, certification, or contract
may be issued, continued, or renewed if: (a) the
provider has been convicted or adjudicated delin-
quent of a serious crime; (b) the provider is the
Table 5: Licensed and Certified Child Care Capacity as of January 1, 2016
No. of Daytime Night Est. Enrolled
Providers Capacity Capacity Children
Licensed Group 2,267 136,122 9,519 193,702
Licensed Family 1,793 14,223 2,246 21,903
Licensed Day Camp 89 8,218 N/A 10,929
Certified Family 1,008 Up to 6 Up to 6 6,048
Certified School Age 6 283 N/A 376
Total 5,163 232,958
18
subject of a pending criminal charge or delin-
quency petition alleging that the provider has
committed a serious crime; (c) a final determina-
tion (or final decision on a contested case hear-
ing) has been made that the person has abused or
neglected a child; or (d) the provider's current
credentials are inadequate. A provider is also
prohibited from employing or contracting with a
person who will have access to children under the
same conditions.
Depending on the criminal offense involved,
an individual may be permanently barred from
providing child care, barred from providing child
care for a period of five years after completion of
any sentence, or barred from providing child care
until rehabilitated. An individual may demon-
strate that they have been rehabilitated by clear
and convincing evidence. However, providers,
caregivers, and residents cannot be rehabilitated
for the purpose of providing child care services if
convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a serious
crime, such as murder, kidnapping, or sexual as-
sault. In addition, child care providers (but not
caregivers or residents) are prohibited from being
rehabilitated for certain crimes against property,
such as retail theft, forgery, or identity theft.
A person who provides false information un-
der these provisions can be required to forfeit not
more than $1,000 and may be subject to other
sanctions. DCF, the county departments, con-
tracted agencies, or school boards may charge a
reasonable fee for any required background in-
vestigation.
Further, DCF and county departments may
refuse to pay a child care provider an authorized
subsidy if it is determined that the provider, an
employee, or resident living on the premises: (a)
has been convicted or adjudicated delinquent, at
age 12 or older, of a felony or misdemeanor that
substantially relates to the care of children or to
the operation of a business; (b) is the subject of a
pending criminal charge that substantially relates
to the care of children; (c) has been determined to
have abused or neglected a child; or (d) has vio-
lated any provision or rule of the child care sub-
sidy program.
Child Care Subsidy Payments. As explained
in more detail below, DCF uses market surveys
to establish the maximum reimbursement amount
Wisconsin Shares will pay for child care. Fami-
lies must pay a portion of this amount depending
on the size of the family, income, and other fac-
tors (the copay). Wisconsin Shares pays the re-
maining amount to the child care provider (the
subsidy). Participating child care providers may
charge more than the maximum reimbursement,
but families will be liable for all amounts exceed-
ing the subsidy by choosing such providers.
Authorization. DCF authorizes payment for
child care based upon assessment of the number
of child care hours needed for the parents to par-
ticipate in their approved activities and the length
of care needed up to twelve months. Child care
eligibility must be reviewed every time a parent
reports a change that may affect their eligibility,
and at least every twelve months.
Authorizations for child care may be for full-
time care (between 35 and 50 hours per week) or
part-time care (less than 35 hours per week). Ad-
ditional time may also be authorized; however, a
child cannot be authorized for more than 75
hours per week. In general, a child may not re-
ceive more than 12 hours of child care per day.
Up to 16 hours may be authorized if the parent
provides written documentation of work or trans-
portation requirements exceeding 12 hours a day.
Payment and the Electronic Benefit Transfer
System. Currently, payments to child care provid-
ers may be based on the number of hours a child
is authorized to attend (enrollment-based), or
based on the number of hours the child actually
attended (attendance-based). Enrollment-based
authorizations pay for the child care "slot" at the
provider, whether or not the child actually at-
tends. Under administrative rules, licensed group
19
child care providers generally receive enrollment-
based payments, and certified child care provid-
ers may only receive attendance-based payments.
However, if the child's schedule varies widely
from week to week or if the provider has signifi-
cantly over-reported attendance in the past, a li-
censed group child care provider may be reim-
bursed based on attendance. As of September,
2016, approximately 61% of payments to group
providers were enrollment-based.
DCF is implementing an electronic benefit
transfer (EBT) system for Wisconsin Shares that
will substantially alter the payment process. The
new EBT system is intended to make the pay-
ment process more consistent with the practices
commonly used in the market for unsubsidized
child care.
Instead of paying for care after it is provided,
DCF will prospectively calculate the subsidy
amount based upon the projected hours of child
care needed by the parent. The subsidy, including
adjustments made for YoungStar rating as de-
scribed below, will be transferred to an EBT ac-
count established on behalf of the parent at the
beginning of each payment period (generally at
the beginning of each month). Parents will be
free to transfer funds at any time from the EBT
account via telephone, website, or an EBT
"swipe" card. The charged amounts will be im-
mediately and electronically transferred into the
child care provider's bank account.
The new EBT system will end the use of at-
tendance-based and enrollment-based authoriza-
tions for child care. Child care providers will no
longer be required to report biweekly attendance
to DCF as part of the Wisconsin Shares subsidy
payment process. Instead, parents will be respon-
sible for managing the subsidy they receive and
will be free to decide whether to reserve a slot at a
child care provider, purchase hourly child care, or
save subsidy amounts for future use as needed.
For auditing purposes, child care providers are still
required to maintain attendance records for at least
three years.
The EBT system will be rolled out in two stag-
es. First, as of December, 2016, EBT has been im-
plemented in the western part of the state (Buffalo,
Clark, Jackson, Monroe, Pepin, Trempealeau,
Vernon, and La Crosse counties). Second, the
rollout will expand to the rest of the state begin-
ning February, 2017.
During the transition period, YoungStar ad-
justments, which are described below, will contin-
ue to be paid directly to four-star and five-star
providers. DCF indicates that YoungStar adjust-
ments will be paid via the EBT card once it is fully
implemented.
Maximum Reimbursement Rates. Payments to
child care providers are capped at maximum
weekly reimbursement rates set by DCF for each
county. If care is provided outside the county
where the parent resides, the higher of the two
county rates applies. As for an out-of-state pro-
vider, the rate in the parent's county of residence
applies.
Attachment 1 shows the maximum rates in
effect since November 9, 2014. As shown in At-
tachment 1, separate rates are set based on the
child's age. Separate rates are also provided for
the different types of child care. By statute, the
maximum rate for Level I certified providers
cannot exceed 75% of the rate for licensed family
child care providers, and the maximum rate for
Level II certified providers cannot exceed 50% of
the rate for licensed family child care providers.
The maximum hourly rate for licensed pro-
viders is the maximum weekly rate divided by 35
hours. For regularly and provisionally certified
providers, the maximum hourly rate is 75% and
50% of the licensed family hourly rate, respec-
tively.
Higher rates than the established maximum
are allowed on a case-by-case basis for children
20
with special needs. Lower rates are provided for
part-time child care. Payment rates may also be
adjusted for individual child care providers based
on the provider's YoungStar rating, which is dis-
cussed in further detail below under "Quality
Rating and Improvement System." Further, a
child care administrative agency may establish its
own rates for child care provided for less than a
two-week period, provided sporadically, or pro-
vided for care of an ill child through negotiations
with the child care provider.
Maximum Rate Setting. The current maximum
reimbursement rates are a product of a somewhat
complicated administrative history. Prior to Feb-
ruary, 2006, each county established the maxi-
mum child care rates using a market survey of
licensed group and licensed family child care
providers. The maximum reimbursement rate was
set so that at least 75% of the number of slots for
children with licensed providers could be pur-
chased at or below the maximum rate.
Effective February 25, 2006, the Department
of Workforce Development (DWD) (which ad-
ministrated Wisconsin Shares at the time) modi-
fied the methodology of calculating subsidy rates
in order to make the program more equitable and
efficient across the state. DWD established four
rate zones based on the percent of the population
in each county living in an urban area: (a) 0-24%;
(b) 25-49%; (c) 50-74%; and (d) 75-100%. Each
county was placed into one of these four zones
based on U.S. census data. Rates were then set to
the 75th
percentile for each zone (instead of by
county) as measured by market surveys. The
planned transition to the urban rate zone system
was capped such that each county's maximum
rate increase or decrease could not exceed 10%
from the 2005 rate.
Before the transition to the new system was
completed, rates were frozen at the 2006 level
due to limited funding and increased costs for the
child care subsidy program. Administrative rules
and provisions of 2011 Act 32 prohibited DCF
from increasing rates before July, 2013. Because
market rates continued to rise during this time
period, the maximum reimbursement rate fell be-
low the 75th
percentile in all four zones.
The rate freeze ended on June 30, 2013, when
2013 Act 20 provided funding to increase the
maximum rates. Act 20 also introduced several
changes which permit DCF more discretion in
setting rates. For example, DCF (as opposed to
counties) now directly determines the rates and
state law no longer ties reimbursement rates to
specific counties.
The maximum reimbursement rates were ad-
justed in October, 2013, to bring all county/tribe
rates to within 25% of the 75th
percentile based
on the 2012 market rate survey. The rates were
again adjusted in November, 2014, to bring all
county rates within 18% of the 75th
percentile
based on the 2012 market survey. Rates have not
changed since November, 2014.
Attachments 2 and 3 show the results of the
2015 market survey, specifically the average
price per child care slot in each county. Based
upon the results of the market survey, DCF esti-
mates that the overall maximum reimbursement
rates for the state are in the 23rd
percentile of the
market price for child care slots. This means that
the maximum reimbursement rates, before adjust-
ing downward for copays, are sufficiently large
enough to pay for the entire cost of 23% of the
child care slots available in the state. Conversely,
the maximum rates would not cover the full costs
of 77% of the child care slots in the state.
Copayment Liability. Families are required to
pay a portion of child care costs subsidized under
Wisconsin Shares. DCF specifies the minimum
or estimated copayment amounts in a schedule
based on family size, income level, and other fac-
tors. Under federal law, parents cannot be
charged a different copayment amount for the
type of child care used.
The copayment amounts may be adjusted by
21
DCF to reflect changes in: (a) child care prices or
rates; (b) the amount of available child care fund-
ing; (c) inflation; (d) the federal poverty levels;
and (e) other economic factors that affect the cost
of child care, such as a change in demand.
If a proposed change to the schedule would
increase copayments by 10% or more, the change
must be promulgated by rule. DCF may not issue
emergency rules to implement such an adjust-
ment before providing at least one month of ad-
vance notice to the public.
Attachment 4 shows the copayment schedule
in effect since March 6, 2016. As the schedule
shows, the weekly copayment amount varies
based on the family's size and income and the
number of children in subsidized care. The co-
payment schedule is structured so that the re-
quired copayment will not exceed 12% of the
family's gross income. For example, the weekly
copayment for a family of two with $1,328 in
monthly income (approximately 100% of pov-
erty) and one child in child care is $22 (or $1,144
per year). This copayment amount makes up
7.2% of the parent's annual income.
Attachment 5 shows the new copayment
schedule which became effective October 1,
2016, for counties implementing the EBT pay-
ment system. The new copayment schedule sets a
monthly copayment determined by two amounts
depending on a family's income: (a) a sliding
scale base amount determined by the number of
monthly child care hours for the family; plus (b)
an amount for each child, based on each child's
authorized hours. For example, a family having
gross income of 130% of the federal poverty lev-
el that has one child in care for 15 hours a month
and another child in care for 31 hours a month
would have: (a) a base amount of $68.50 (50% of
$137); plus (b) an additional $18.80 (10% of $47
plus 30% of $47).
There are several exceptions to the copay
schedules:
a. State law specifies that an individual who
is under the age of 20 and is attending high
school or participating in a course of study to ob-
tain a GED may not be liable for more than the
minimum copayment amount for the number of
children receiving child care.
b. Foster care parents, subsidized guardians,
interim caretakers, and kinship care parents who
have court-ordered placement of a child are not
subject to copay requirements.
c. Kinship care parents who are providing
care for a child without a court order are subject
to the minimum copayment.
d. Parents who have left a W-2 employment
position for an unsubsidized job qualify for the
minimum copay for one month.
e. Families with children who receive child
care services for 20 hours or less in a week are
subject to one half of the usual copay amount.
f. State law prohibits a copayment respon-
sibility for minor teen parents who are Learnfare
participants.
Subsidy. The maximum subsidy available to a
child care provider under Wisconsin Shares is the
lowest of the following: (a) the maximum weekly
reimbursement rate; (b) the number of authorized
hours of child care provided in a week multiplied
by the provider's private rate; or (c) the number
of authorized hours of child care provided in a
week multiplied by the hourly maximum reim-
bursement rate.
The child care provider receives the difference
between the maximum subsidy amount and the
family's copay. Families are responsible for pay-
ing the copayment directly to the provider.
Program Integrity and Penalties. DCF's
program integrity unit reviews potential fraud in
Wisconsin Shares and suspends payments to sus-
22
pected fraudulent providers. DCF reports en-
forcement actions on its website and lists the vio-
lations committed by child care providers and
any steps the provider has taken to correct the
violation.
DCF has also instituted several initiatives to
enhance program integrity in Wisconsin Shares,
including: (a) monthly "red flag" reports, which
highlight indicators that certain child care pro-
viders may be participating in fraudulent activity;
(b) a child care anti-fraud task force to deal with
parents, child care providers, and others who
fraudulently receive child care subsidies in Mil-
waukee County; (c) new attendance reporting
methods for child care providers; (d) a child care
fraud reporting hot line and a "report child care
fraud" form available on the DCF website; and
(e) an internal referral network among all public
assistance regulators and licensors/certifiers to
identify and report suspected fraud.
Table 6 below shows fraud prevention and
overpayment expenditures, establishment, and
actual recoveries.
Attendance. Child care providers must main-
tain a written record of the daily hours of attend-
ance of each child for whom a subsidy is provid-
ed. This information must be maintained for at
least three years after the child's last day of at-
tendance, regardless of whether the child care
provider is still receiving or eligible to receive
payments under the Wisconsin Shares program.
At the time of this writing, child care provid-
ers continue to report actual attendance either via
mail or through the child care provider infor-
mation website. Once the EBT system is imple-
mented, it is anticipated that providers will no
longer report actual attendance to DCF.
Penalties. State law enables DCF to recoup
payments, withhold payments, and impose forfei-
tures on a child care provider if the provider
submits false, misleading, or irregular infor-
mation to DCF or fails to comply with the terms
of the child care subsidy program. The forfeiture
amount ranges from $100 to $10,000 based on
the seriousness of the violation and other factors.
All suspended providers have the right to appeal
suspensions and forfeitures within 30 days of the
effective date of the suspension. If a child care
providing corporation or limited liability compa-
ny cannot pay the penalty, personal liability may
extend to officers, directors, and employees hav-
ing sufficient ownership and control of the child
care business.
Benefits must be denied to applicants who
intentionally violate the rules of the subsidy pro-
gram for the purpose of establishing or maintain-
ing eligibility, including: (a) six months for the
first intentional program violation; (b) one year
Table 6: Fraud Prevention Expenditures, Establishment, and Recovery in Wisconsin Shares
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
Expenditures for Fraud Prevention
and Investigation $1,892,800 $2,408,300 $2,521,300 $2,028,100 $1,456,304 $1,670,687 $11,977,491
Expenditures for Recovery of
Overpayments 351,994 565,000 369,162 276,897 256,324 220,413 2,039,790
Overpayments Established
against Suspended Providers 3,575,684 2,919,130 2,217,197 693,286 192,773 335,544 9,933,614
Collections of Overpayments and
Restitution (Recipients and
Providers) 2,653,777 3,495,611 2,557,885 2,300,491 2,003,065 1,660,560 14,671,389
23
for the second intentional program violation; and
(c) permanently for the third intentional program
violation.
A child care provider and a parent are jointly
and severally liable for an overpayment if the
provider and parent collude to violate the child
care subsidy program. Further, state law prohibits
a child care provider from using marketing or
promotional offerings that personally benefit
Wisconsin Shares parents (such as a cash pay-
ment). This prevents providers from paying
"kickbacks" to parents that effectively split the
child care subsidy between the parent and the
provider.
Cost-Saving Initiatives. Wisconsin law au-
thorizes DCF to implement a number of cost sav-
ing measures for the Wisconsin Shares program
to ensure that expenditures for the program do
not exceed the amounts budgeted. Using this au-
thority, DCF may: (a) adjust the amount of reim-
bursement paid to child care providers who pro-
vide child care services under Wisconsin Shares;
(b) increase the copayment amount that an indi-
vidual must pay toward the cost of child care re-
ceived under Wisconsin Shares; (c) implement a
waiting list for Wisconsin Shares applicants (but
not W-2); and (d) adjust the gross income levels
for eligibility for receipt of a child care subsidy
under Wisconsin Shares.
DCF used this authority to require all licensed
family child care providers to receive attendance-
based payments. As a result, only licensed group
child care providers may receive enrollment-
based payments. DCF has not implemented a
wait-list for Wisconsin Shares participants.
As noted above, it is anticipated that the new
EBT payment system will end the use of attend-
ance-based and enrollment-based authorizations.
So long as enrollment authorizations are contin-
ued to be made, Wisconsin law requires DCF to
lower costs by limiting payments for underuti-
lized enrollments. To do this, DCF tracks a
child's weekly usage of child care authorizations
over a six-week period. If the tracked hours show
that less than 60% of the authorized hours are
used, DCF reduces the authorized hours of child
care to 90% of the highest number of hours of
child care that the child attended during any week
of that six-week period. DCF must provide writ-
ten notice of the adjustment to the parent, the
child care provider, and the applicable child care
administrative agency, and provide a grace period
of two weeks before implementing the reduced
payments to the child care provider. In determin-
ing a child's hourly usage, DCF excludes on an
annual basis two weeks of the child's vacation
time and one week of vacation time and one
week of sick time for the provider
Indirect Child Care Services
Child Care Quality and Availability. As
described in Appendix B, federal law requires
states to use a certain portion of federal and state
funding sources for child care quality improve-
ments. In addition, funding received under the
federal child care and development program is
earmarked for certain kinds of activities including
expansion of child care, child care quality im-
provements, and resource and referral services.
Approximately $17.1 million was expended
from the TANF budget in 2015-16 and $15.5 mil-
lion is budgeted in 2016-17 for programs to im-
prove child care quality and availability. The
funding is allocated for the following programs:
Technical Assistance. Technical assistance
expenditures to child care providers totaled
$686,200 in 2015-16 and are budgeted at
$541,000 in 2016-17. Funding is provided for:
(a) the Registry (a system that documents verified
formal and informal education of individuals in
the early care and education workforce); (b) the
Supporting Families Together Association
(SFTA); and (c) other technical and training op-
portunities.
24
The Registry provides a credential system for
the child care and education profession. The Reg-
istry awards certificates for specialized teaching
fields and determines an individual's placement
into the career levels system based on the indi-
vidual's education and training.
SFTA and the Wisconsin Early Childhood
Association provide YoungStar training, tech-
nical assistance, and rating to support child care
providers and programs working towards quality
enhancement, training on the Wisconsin model
early learning standards and the Wisconsin pyr-
amid model, collaboration and quality improve-
ment efforts with the child care resource and re-
ferral delivery system for tribal child care needs,
and support in tribal and rural areas for family
child care programs to improve their YoungStar
ratings.
Other technical and training opportunities in-
clude accreditation support, professional practic-
es, mentoring and coaching support, and credit
for prior learning.
Resource and Referral Agencies. Wisconsin
utilizes 10 locally based child care resource and
referral agencies to provide the following ser-
vices throughout the state: (a) connect parents
with child care services and consumer education
to make informed choices in selecting child care;
(b) provide guidance to parents on child devel-
opment, early learning, child abuse and neglect
prevention, health and wellness, early care and
education, and school-readiness; (c) develop pro-
fessionals who care for and educate children; (d)
deliver training and professional development,
conferences, on-site consultation, and networking
opportunities; (e) design, implement, and evalu-
ate child care quality improvement initiatives;
and (f) collect, analyze, and share data about ear-
ly child care and education. Resource and referral
agencies also function as local YoungStar offices.
Expenditures for resource and referral agen-
cies totaled $1.5 million in 2015-16 and are
budgeted at $1.3 million in 2016-17.
Child Care Scholarships and Stipends. The
teacher education and compensation helps
(TEACH) program and the rewarding education
with wages and respect for dedication (RE-
WARD) program are designed to address child
care staffing shortages and low retention rates.
The TEACH program provides scholarships to
teachers and child care providers for educational
costs directly related to the child care field. The
scholarships, which vary in length and amount,
cover a portion of books, travel, and the costs of
tuition (from three to 18 credits), and provide a
raise or a bonus upon completion of a Registry
credential. The REWARD program provides sti-
pends to child care providers and teachers, pro-
vided that they meet certain requirements for ed-
ucation, employment, and longevity. Stipend
amounts are based on the individual's career level
in the Registry.
As of September, 2016, the TEACH program
had 1,668 active scholarship participants. As of
November, 2016, there were a total of 3,454 ac-
tive recipients participating in the REWARD
program.
TEACH and REWARD expenditures totaled
$4.1 million in 2015-16 and are budgeted $4.0
million in 2016-17.
Child Care Information Center. The child
care information center is a mail-order lending
library and information center that serves those
who work in the fields of child care and early
childhood education. The child care information
center provides free information services, library
services, and education and training services to
help Wisconsin's child care professionals. The
information center is administered by the De-
partment of Public Instruction's reference and
loan library. Expenditures for the child care in-
formation center totaled $46,000 in 2015-16 and
are budgeted at $120,000 in 2016-17.
25
Table 7: YoungStar Participation (October, 2016)
Wisconsin Shares Children Authorized by YoungStar Rating
One Star* Two Star Three Star Four Star Five Star Total
0 11,517 24,401 2,187 8,401 46,506
(0%) (24.8%) (52.5%) (4.7%) (18.1%) (100%)
YoungStar Ratings of Child Care Provider by Regulated Type
One Star* Two Star Three Star Four Star Five Star Total
Licensed Group 1 565 825 104 352 1,847
Licensed Family 10 631 343 74 58 1,116
Certified Family 2 423 52 8 1 486
Public School 0 114 73 5 3 195
Total 13 1,733 1,293 191 414 3,644
(0.4%) (47.6%) (35.5%) (5.2%) (11.4%) (100.0%)
*Child care providers who were rated as one star cannot participate in Wisconsin Shares.
Other Expenditures. Additional funding in-
cludes $167,600 in 2015-16 for Milwaukee early
care administration and $362,900 in 2015-16 and
$318,100 in 2016-17 for training contracts. Other
funding that may count in part toward the federal
requirements for spending on child care quality
improvements includes $10.2 million of the total
$10.7 million expended in 2015-16 and $9.2 mil-
lion budgeted in 2016-17 of the total $10.7 mil-
lion described below for the quality rating and
improvement system. The remaining funding for
the quality rating and improvement system is part
of the budget for child care state administrative
costs.
Quality Rating and Improvement System
(YoungStar). The Child Care Quality Rating and
Improvement System, referred to as YoungStar,
evaluates child care providers on a publically
searchable five-star scale. YoungStar communi-
cates its ratings to the public and provides train-
ing, technical assistance, and certain financial
assistance in order to improve child care quality
in Wisconsin.
Administration. STFA administers the
YoungStar program locally in 10 offices in six
regions. YoungStar expenditures were $10.7 mil-
lion in 2015-16 and are budgeted at $10.7 million
in 2016-17 for: (a) quality assurance monitoring
($1.6 million); (b) training and technical assis-
tance ($4.6 million); (c) improvement grants
($1.7 million); (d) internal training and profes-
sional development ($0.7 million); (e) project
management/administration ($0.7 million); (f)
information technology ($1.1 million); and (g)
other costs, such as communication and state
staff ($0.3 million). YoungStar ratings of child
care providers are shown below in Table 7.
In general, child care providers must partici-
pate in YoungStar in order to participate in Wis-
consin Shares. However, license-exempt pro-
grams, such as those operated by school districts
discussed above in "Licensing and Certification,"
remain eligible for Wisconsin Shares.
Ratings Process. YoungStar assesses child
care providers when they apply to be in
YoungStar, and every other year thereafter when
they renew their YoungStar contract. There is an
appeals process for child care providers who dis-
agree with their rating. Ratings are posted on the
DCF website.
26
Technical Consultation and Rating. STFA
uses technical consultants to complete on-site
ratings and provide consultation services to child
care providers. A technical consultant from the
regional office will first verify the provider's edu-
cation and training through the Registry to con-
firm that the provider could potentially qualify
for a higher rating. Then the technical consultant
will generally meet with the provider on-site to
develop a quality improvement plan. Over the
course of 20 weeks, the provider and consultant
will decide what the provider’s micro-grant will
be used for and monitor progress toward the
quality improvement goals. Next, the consultant
will make and discuss the YoungStar rating with
the provider. Afterwards, DCF will post the rat-
ing on the YoungStar public child care search
website.
If the provider chooses to be rated without
technical consultation, the consultant will deter-
mine the rating based upon documentation sup-
plied by the provider. If a provider chooses to be
rated before technical consultation, a consultant
will arrange to visit the program to complete a
rating within eight weeks of receiving the com-
pleted YoungStar contract.
Two different evaluation methods are used.
First, child care providers participating in
YoungStar may opt for a technical rating to re-
ceive either two or three stars. The rating is based
on the number of points earned in the following
quality indicator categories: (a) provider or staff
education and training; (b) learning environment
and curriculum; (c) business and professional
practices; and (d) health and wellness. As of July
1, 2016, a cumulative total of 2,090 providers
were rated using a technical rating.
Second, providers may opt for more intensive
formal on-site review in order to receive three,
four, or five stars. This rating uses the YoungStar
quality indicators, environmental rating scales
(which are utilized by quality rating and technical
assistance programs to observe classrooms
throughout the country), and program administra-
tion and business administration scales (which
review business practices, professional develop-
ment, staff benefits and parent/family involve-
ment). As of July 1, 2016, a cumulative total of
226 providers were rated using a formal rating.
As of, July 1, 2016, a total of $9.1 million in
micro-grants has been issued under the
YoungStar program. SFTA processes all micro-
grants.
Automated Rating. Child care providers are
automatically assigned one star if their licenses or
certifications have been revoked, suspended, or
denied, or if their payments under Wisconsin
Shares have ended due to fraud or suspected
fraud. One-star providers cannot receive reim-
bursement under Wisconsin Shares.
Child care providers that comply with licens-
ing regulations (or which are managed by a
school board) may opt out of the technical obser-
vation process and automatically receive a two-
star rating. Providers often choose to forgo the
technical ratings process because they would not
meet the educational and training requirements
needed to receive a higher rating.
Finally, child care providers may automatical-
ly receive a four- or five- star rating through ac-
creditation with certain organizations which DCF
has recognized as having equivalent standards as
YoungStar. The Wisconsin Council on Children
and Families indicates that approximately 90% of
five-star group providers received their rating via
accreditation.
As of July 1, 2016, a cumulative total of 1,461
providers active in YoungStar chose to be rated
automatically.
Tiered Reimbursement. Child care providers
receive an adjustment to their reimbursement un-
der Wisconsin Shares based on the number of
stars earned. The rate adjustment applies after the
parent copayment. The tiered reimbursement
27
amounts are currently as follows: (a) one-star
providers are prohibited from receiving reim-
bursement under Wisconsin Shares; (b) two-star
providers receive a reduction of up to 5% from
the base reimbursement rate; (c) three-star pro-
viders receive up to the base reimbursement rate;
(d) four-star providers receive an increase of up
to 10% from the base reimbursement rate; and (e)
five-star providers receive an increase of up to
25% from the base reimbursement rate.
As part of the new EBT system for Wisconsin
Shares, DCF intends to apply a market cap to
YoungStar adjustments. As a result, the sum of
the subsidy and YoungStar bonus will no longer
be able to exceed the market price charged by the
provider. However, as described above, DCF in-
dicates that four- and five- star providers will
continue to receive YoungStar bonuses directly
during the implementation of the EBT system.
Table 8 below shows the tiered reimburse-
ments under YoungStar in 2015. As shown in the
table, YoungStar adjustment resulted in a net in-
crease in child care subsidy payments of approx-
imately $9.4 million.
Other W-2 Benefits and Services
Job Access Loans
Pursuant to rules promulgated by DCF, W-2
agencies issue job access loans to individuals. The
minimum loan amount available is $25, and the
maximum an individual may receive is $1,600 in
any 12-month period. Emergency payments may
be made within 24 to 96 hours of the approval of
the job access loan.
The W-2 agency must determine a minimum
monthly repayment amount for each loan, and an
individual receiving a loan must submit to the
agency a repayment plan for the loan which in-
cludes the maximum cash repayment amount and
the shortest repayment period that the W-2 agency
determines is feasible. At least 25% of the loan
amount must be repaid in cash. The remaining
75% may be repaid in cash or through a combina-
tion of cash and volunteer in-kind community
work approved by the W-2 agency. The partici-
pant must repay a job access loan within 12
months, which may be extended to 24 months
with W-2 agency approval.
In general, individuals who meet the nonfinan-
cial and financial eligibility requirements for par-
ticipation in a W-2 employment position may be
eligible for a job access loan if the individual: (a)
needs the loan to address an immediate and dis-
crete financial crisis that is not the result of the
individual's failure to accept a bona fide job offer
or the individual's termination of a job without
good cause; (b) needs the loan to obtain or contin-
ue employment or to repair or purchase a vehicle
that is needed to obtain or continue employment;
(c) is not in default with respect to the repayment
of any previous job access loan or repayment of
any W-2 grant or wage overpayments; and (d) is
not a migrant worker.
Generally, individuals who are less than 18
years old are not eligible for W-2 employment po-
sitions or job access loans. However, if the person
will be 18 within two months of the date of appli-
cation, the person may be eligible for a loan if the
individual is in kinship care, a foster home, a
group home, or an adult-supervised independent
living arrangement approved by the W-2 agency.
Table 8: YoungStar Tiered Reimbursement for
2015 Authorized Wisconsin YoungStar
Hours Shares Issuance Adjustment
Not Rated 1,870,786 $5,879,767 $0
1 Star 10,418 36,094 0
2 Stars 18,373,205 56,178,400 -2,989,458
3 Stars 30,164,650 106,670,045 -11,000
4 Stars 3,812,523 13,879,190 1,168,368
5 Stars 11,243,729 55,973,927 11,212,741
Total 65,475,311 $238,617,423 $9,380,651
28
In addition, the individual must have graduated
from high school or met the standards for the
granting of a declaration of equivalency of high
school graduation.
The source of funding for job access loans
comes from the TANF block grant and the repay-
ment of job access loans. In addition, repayments
may be used to fund administrative costs associat-
ed with collecting delinquent job access loan re-
payments. DCF certifies delinquent repayments of
job access loans to the Department of Revenue for
setoff against state tax refunds and credits. Any
revenues recovered must be used to make addi-
tional job access loans. DCF may also collect de-
linquent repayments through other legal means.
Transportation Assistance
W-2 agencies must provide transportation as-
sistance to enable participation in W-2 activities.
The types of transportation services provided
may vary from agency to agency based on the
options in the area that are both available and
reasonable. A reasonable transportation option
must meet all of the following criteria:
1. The transportation option is safe;
2. All out-of-pocket transportation costs are
reasonable with respect to the applicant's or par-
ticipant's income;
3. The one-way travel time between home,
child care, and work or activities is no more than
60, or in some cases 90, minutes; and
4. All relevant factors have been considered
(such as whether the option is the most convenient
and reliable one that also meets the other criteria).
A W-2 participant who receives transportation
assistance is subject to all TANF requirements
pertaining to the 48-month lifetime limit and oth-
er nonfinancial specifications such as cooperation
with child support. However, transportation assis-
tance will not count against the 48-month time
limit for W-2 participants in an unpaid, case
management only placement if any of the follow-
ing apply: (a) they are employed for at least one
hour per month; (b) they are engaged in job
search/readiness activities requiring child care;
(c) the transportation is not provided for longer
than four months; or (d) the transportation ser-
vices are provided via a group transportation or
transportation capacity building project (such as a
TANF-funded expanded bus route).
Pregnant Women
A pregnant woman who is not considered an
at-risk pregnant woman described above under
"W-2 Employment Positions," and who would
otherwise be eligible for a W-2 employment posi-
tion except for the fact that she is not (yet) a cus-
todial parent of a dependent child is eligible for
services through a case management pregnancy
placement. Individuals in this placement may re-
ceive services such as employment training, job
search assistance, child care related activities,
and other related case management activities,
provided by the W-2 agency. The pregnancy
must be medically-verified.
Once the child is born, the participant may be
eligible for the payments and services described
above under "Custodial Parent of Infant."
Minor Custodial Parents
Under the W-2 program, an individual must be
at least 18 years old in order to participate in a
subsidized employment position. However, a cus-
todial parent under the age of 18 is eligible to meet
with a financial and employment planner, regard-
less of the income or assets of that individual or
the individual's parents. The planner may provide
the individual with information regarding W-2
eligibility, available child care services, employ-
ment and financial planning, family planning ser-
vices, community resources, and eligibility for
29
FoodShare and other food and nutrition programs.
Assistance Payments Exempt from Levy
Payments for kinship care, community service
jobs, transitional placements, custodial parents of
infants, at-risk pregnant women, child care, and
transportation are exempt from every tax, and
from execution, garnishment, attachment, and
every other process and are inalienable.
Sanctions, Dispute Resolution, Earnings
Check, and Overpayments and Fraud
Sanctions
As noted above, a $5.00 hourly sanction is im-
posed if a participant in a community service job
or transitional placement misses required work,
training, or educational and training activities
without good cause. Additional sanctions may be
imposed upon recipients for refusal to participate
in an employment position, not cooperating with
child support requirements, intentional program
violations, and for failing a drug test.
Before taking any action against a W-2 partici-
pant that would result in a 20% or more reduction
in the participant's benefits or in termination of the
participant's eligibility to participate in W-2, a W-
2 agency must: (a) provide written notice of the
proposed action and of the reasons for the pro-
posed action to the W-2 participant; and (b) allow
the W-2 participant reasonable time to rectify the
deficiency, failure, or other behavior to avoid the
proposed action. However, notice and opportunity
to rectify are not required for actions predicated
upon W-2 financial and non-financial eligibility
criteria (such as a child becoming 18 years old or
the participant moving out of the state).
Refusal to Participate. If a W-2 participant
(or individual in a participant's W-2 group) refuses
to participate in a W-2 employment position com-
ponent, the participant is ineligible to participate
in the entire W-2 program for three months. If a
participant (or individual in a participant's W-2
group) refuses without good cause to participate in
a W-2 component three times, that participant is
ineligible to further participate in that component.
A participant is considered to have refused to
participate if he or she, without good cause, as de-
termined by the W-2 agency: (a) fails to appear
for an interview with a prospective employer, in-
cluding a work experience provider; (b) fails to
appear for an assigned activity; (c) voluntarily
leaves appropriate employment or training without
good cause; (d) is discharged from appropriate
employment or training for cause; (e) refuses to
accept a bona fide offer of employment; (f) refuses
to participate in a W-2 employment position; (g) is
discharged from a work experience site for cause;
or (h) demonstrates through other behavior or ac-
tion, as determined by the financial and employ-
ment planner, that he or she refuses to participate.
Cooperation with Child Support Efforts. In
order to be eligible for a W-2 employment posi-
tion or child care, every parent in an individual's
W-2 group must fully cooperate in efforts to estab-
lish paternity and obtain support payments or any
other payments or property to which that parent
and the dependent child may have rights, unless it
is determined that the parent has good cause for
not cooperating or is exempt because the child is
60 days old or younger. An individual who fails
three times to meet these requirements remains
ineligible until all members of the individual's W-
2 group cooperate or for a period of six months,
whichever is later.
Intentional Program Violations. If an indi-
vidual applying for or receiving benefits under W-
2, Wisconsin Shares, or emergency assistance in-
tentionally violates any provision or rule related to
these programs, the individual must be denied
benefits as follows: (a) for six months for a first
intentional program violation; (b) for one year for
a second program violation; and (c) permanently
30
for a third intentional program violation.
Dispute Resolution
Under state law, a two-part process is estab-
lished for reviewing decisions by local W-2
agencies. The first step of the process allows in-
dividuals to petition the local agency for a fact
finding review of certain decisions. If the agen-
cy's review does not result in a decision that is
acceptable to the individual, he or she can then
petition DCF for review of the agency's decision.
The W-2 agency may also request a review by
DCF.
W-2 Agency Review. Any individual whose
application for a W-2 employment position, job
access loan, or emergency assistance is not acted
upon by the local W-2 agency with reasonable
promptness may petition the W-2 agency for re-
view of such action. A petition for review may
also be made if the application is denied in whole
or in part, if the individual's benefit is modified
or canceled, if the individual believes that the
benefit was calculated incorrectly, or if the indi-
vidual believes that he or she was placed in an
inappropriate employment position. Review is
not available if the agency's action occurred more
than 45 days prior to submission of the petition.
Upon a timely petition for review, the agency
must give the applicant or participant reasonable
notice and opportunity for a review. The agency
must render its decision as soon as possible after
the review and mail a certified copy of its deci-
sion to the applicant or participant. The agency is
required to deny a petition for review or refuse to
grant relief if the petitioner withdraws the peti-
tion in writing or abandons the petition. Aban-
donment occurs if the petitioner fails to appear in
person or by representative at a scheduled hear-
ing without good cause, as defined by DCF by
rule.
DCF Review of Financial Eligibility De-
terminations. If the W-2 agency's decision in-
volved denial of an application based solely on
the determination of financial ineligibility, DCF
is required to review the W-2 agency's decision
if: (a) the applicant or participant petitions DCF
for review of the decision within 21 days after the
certified copy of the W-2 agency decision is
mailed; or (b) the W-2 agency requests DCF to
review the agency's decision.
Reviews of financial eligibility are referred to
and conducted by the Division of Hearings and
Appeals in the Department of Administration
(DOA). The review is limited to the record and
the fact finding decision of the W-2 agency.
However, the Division may make any additional
investigation it considers necessary.
DCF must make a decision as soon as possible
and must send a certified copy of its decision to
the applicant or participant, county clerk, and W-
2 agency. The decision is a final decision, but
may be revoked or modified as conditions
change.
DCF Review of Other Agency Decisions. If
the agency's decision does not involve denial of
an application based solely on the determination
of financial ineligibility, DCF is authorized, but
not required, to review a decision by a W-2 agen-
cy. These reviews are also referred to and con-
ducted by DOA.
Corrective Actions. W-2 agencies are bound
by a DCF final decision. The W-2 agency must
place an individual in the first available W-2 em-
ployment position that is appropriate for that in-
dividual if: (a) the individual's application for a
W-2 employment position was denied and the
W-2 agency or DCF determines that the individ-
ual was in fact eligible; or (b) the individual was
placed in an inappropriate W-2 employment posi-
tion. The individual would be eligible for the
benefit for the W-2 employment position begin-
ning on the date on which the individual begins
employment or education and training activities
for that position. Further, if the W-2 agency or
31
DCF determines that a person's benefit was im-
properly modified, canceled, or calculated, the
W-2 agency must restore the benefit to the ap-
propriate level retroactive to the date on which
the error first occurred.
Earnings Verification
State law requires DCF to periodically review
the earnings of participants in the W-2 program by
checking amounts credited to recipient social se-
curity numbers. Any discrepancy between the
amounts reported as earnings and the amounts
credited to a social security number must be inves-
tigated.
Federal law requires states to implement an
income eligibility verification system (IEVS) to
verify the accuracy of financial information pro-
vided by applicants for federally funded assistance
programs. If a state does not implement this sys-
tem, the federal TANF grant could be reduced by
as much as 2% per year.
Wisconsin utilizes a data exchange between
state, federal, and private databases to request and
verify recipient earnings information. Information
verified includes social security numbers and SSI
payments from the U.S. Social Security Admin-
istration, state wage and unemployment insurance
information collected by DWD, unearned income
from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and im-
migration status from the United States Citizen-
ship and Immigration Services.
The Legislative Audit Bureau determined in its
2004 single audit report that Wisconsin failed to
meet IEVS requirements for the TANF program.
DWD, which administered TANF at the time, was
notified that the state was subject to a penalty of
$4.7 million. After the State's dispute of the penal-
ty was denied, Wisconsin submitted an approved
corrective compliance plan under which no penal-
ty would be imposed if Wisconsin corrected the
IEVS violation on or before September 30, 2007.
Despite the corrective compliance plan, the Legis-
lative Audit Bureau's 2009 single audit report
identified that Wisconsin was not properly con-
ducting IEVS data matching of unearned income
with the IRS. Further, county and W-2 agencies
did not timely follow up on data matches of wage
information and unemployment insurance from
DWD. As a result, the $4.7 million penalty was
imposed on the TANF block grant for FFY 2015.
Wisconsin was required to replace this amount
with state funds.
In 2015, DCF entered into corrective action
plan to meet IEVS data matching requirements by
the end of 2016. DCF reports that it has completed
all documentation and taken the necessary steps
under the corrective action plan to be in compli-
ance with the IEVS data matching requirements.
Overpayments and Fraud
DCF is required to recover all overpayments of
benefits paid for participation in W-2 employment
positions, Transform Milwaukee and Transitional
jobs programs, child care subsidies, transportation
assistance, and emergency assistance. Further,
state law allows for recovery when a W-2 recipi-
ent receives a financial windfall (such as an inher-
itance, court settlement, or lottery winnings). DCF
must also conduct activities to reduce payment
errors and distribute funds to W-2 agencies for the
administrative costs of reducing payment errors.
Overpayments may result from administrative
errors, inadvertent errors in information provided
by the participant, or from intentional program
violations by participants willfully misreporting or
failing to report eligibility information. Liability
for an overpayment is joint and several and ex-
tends to any parent, nonmarital coparent, or step-
parent for the period of time such persons are in
the W-2 group while it receives benefits.
When an overpayment of W-2, child care, or
transportation benefits is detected, the W-2 agency
must provide notification to the participant stating
the reason for the overpayment, the time period in
32
which it occurred, and the participant's right to
appeal the overpayment determination. The partic-
ipant can choose to follow the dispute resolution
procedures outlined above. If still not satisfied, the
participant can request a hearing under the DOA
administrative review process.
If the overpayment determination becomes fi-
nal after the dispute resolution procedures, DCF
may recoup the overpayment through several dif-
ferent methods. In general, W-2 payments may be
recovered through a tax intercept program. The
state share of these recovered payments may be
used to fund state and local welfare fraud and error
reduction efforts.
For closed cases and unpaid W-2 placements,
any overpayment may be recovered by the W-2
agency via a negotiated repayment agreement re-
quiring monthly payments over a reasonable peri-
od of time.
For community service jobs and transitional
placements (which provide cash grants to partici-
pants), the W-2 agency, county, or tribal govern-
ing body must ask a participant to voluntarily re-
pay the overpayment amount. If the participant
refuses, the W-2 agency must refer the individual
to DCF for collection or court action. DCF is re-
quired to recover an overpayment resulting from
an error by reducing the amount of the individu-
al's benefit payment by no more than 10%. A par-
ticipant may also make an additional voluntary
repayment. In cases of intentional program viola-
tions, DCF must recover the overpayment by de-
ducting the following amounts from subsequent
monthly W-2 employment benefits:
a. If the amount of the overpayment is less
than $300; 10% of the monthly benefit payment.
b. If the overpayment is at least $300, but
less than $1,000; $75.
c. If the overpayment is at least $1,000, but
less than $2,500; $100.
d. If the overpayment is $2,500 or more;
$200.
For the TEMP placements (which provide a
wage subsidy to employers), DCF may recover
from the participant up to the amount paid in wage
subsidies while the participant was ineligible to
participate. For Transform Milwaukee and Tran-
sitional Job placements (which, as discussed be-
low, also provide a subsidy to employers), DCF
may recover any overpayments from participants
that result from their misrepresentation of eligi-
bility for the program. DCF may recover over-
payments from contractors that result from a con-
tractor failing to meet performance standards or
failing to comply with the terms of the contract.
For emergency assistance, in the case of an er-
ror in payment, DCF is required to recover the
overpayment from the W-2 agency by offsetting
the agency's W-2 contract. County departments
and W-2 agencies must notify DCF if they deter-
mine that DCF may recover an overpayment. In
the case of an overpayment resulting from a mis-
representation by the participant with respect to
his or her eligibility, recovery may be made from
the participant by any legal means, including state
income tax intercept or levy against property.
A repayment will be considered delinquent if
the participant fails three times to timely submit a
payment by its due date. If a repayment is delin-
quent, DCF may issue a warrant to a county circuit
court clerk that is considered a final judgment and
perfected lien against all the participant's real
property and personal property in that county.
DCF must provide notice of the warrant to the par-
ticipant, who has the right to an administrative
hearing concerning the delinquency of the debt.
Once the warrant is issued and the time for a
hearing has expired, DCF can direct the county
sheriff to levy and seize the participant's property.
The first $1,000 in a bank account is exempt from
any levy. In addition, the greater of the following
is exempt from the levy: (a) a subsistence allow-
33
ance of 75% of the individual's disposable earn-
ings; or (b) an amount equal to 30 times the feder-
al minimum hourly wage for each full week of the
individual's pay period.
Local Fraud Investigation. Administrative
rules provide for incentive payments to local child
care agencies for identifying fraud in Wisconsin
Shares by child care providers. The incentive
payment is an amount equal to the average month-
ly subsidy payment per child during the prior fis-
cal year, multiplied by the number of children par-
ticipating in the subsidy program for whom the
provider provides care, multiplied by 1.5 months.
The incentive payment may be used to either:
(a) add to next year’s child care fraud contract (or
its existing child-care fraud contract if requested in
the first half of the contract term) with DCF; or (b)
for another TANF-related purpose consistent with
the state TANF plan.
In 2015, DCF provided one incentive payment
to Kenosha County in the amount of $34,044. Ke-
nosha opted to receive those funds in its 2016
fraud allocation.
Mandatory Fraud Reporting. Employees of
DCF, a county, or a tribal governing body must
immediately report suspected fraudulent activity
in public assistance programs to their immediate
supervisor. The supervisor then must evaluate the
report to determine whether there is reason to sus-
pect that the fraudulent activity has occurred or is
occurring. If so, the supervisor must report the
fraudulent activity to DCF and, if in a county hav-
ing a population of 145,000 or more, to the sheriff.
Any person who fails to report suspected fraudu-
lent activity may be required to forfeit not more
than $1,000.
The identity of the employee reporting fraud
must remain confidential if it is reasonably possi-
ble to do so. Any person who reports suspected
fraudulent activity in good faith has immunity
from any liability, civil or criminal, that may re-
sult. DCF, a county, a tribal governing body, and
their employees are prohibited from taking disci-
plinary action against, or threatening to take disci-
plinary action against, any person because the per-
son in good faith reported suspected fraudulent
activities. Any employee subjected to, or threat-
ened with, disciplinary action is allowed to file an
equal rights complaint or a fair employment claim.
Criminal Penalties. Pursuant to 2013 Act
226, the Department of Justice and district attor-
neys are authorized to prosecute violations of
criminal laws affecting any public assistance
program, including W−2, FoodShare, and medi-
cal assistance. It is a Class A misdemeanor to (a)
intentionally make, or cause to be made, any
false statement or representation of material fact
in any application for W-2 benefits; or (b) con-
ceal or fail to disclose an event which would af-
fect the initial or continued eligibility for W-2
benefits. If accomplished by furnishing items or
services for which payment is or may be made
under W-2, such violations constitute a Class H
felony.
Other Related Programs
Transform Milwaukee and Transitional Jobs
Program
The Transform Milwaukee program, which
was created under 2013 Act 20 and took effect on
July 1, 2013, provides employers in the City of
Milwaukee with financial subsidies if they hire
eligible low-income individuals. In contrast with
W-2, childless individuals may qualify for the
Transform Milwaukee program, and the income
eligibility limit is higher (150% of the federal
poverty level). The program is a public-private
partnership focusing on the area of Milwaukee
encompassed by West Silver Spring Drive, West
Mitchell Street, North Sherman Boulevard, and
Highway 43. A total of 867 participants were
placed in Transform Milwaukee jobs in 2015.
34
Under the program, DCF may reimburse an
employer or contractor for a minimum of 20 hours
per week for any of the following costs that are
attributable to the employment of an eligible indi-
vidual: (a) a wage subsidy equal to the amount of
wages paid to the individual for hours actually
worked, not to exceed 40 hours per week at the
applicable federal or state minimum wage; (b)
federal social security and Medicare taxes; (c)
state and federal unemployment taxes; and (d)
worker's compensation insurance premiums. An
employer or, subject to DCF's approval, a contrac-
tor, may pay a participant an amount that exceeds
the wage subsidy. Participants can work in the
program for a maximum of 1,040 hours.
To be eligible to participate in the program, an
individual must: (a) be at least 18 years of age; (b)
if older than 24 years of age, be a parent of a child
under age 18 or be a relative and primary caregiv-
er of a child under age 18; (c) have an annual
household income below 150% of the FPL; (d) be
unemployed for at least four weeks; (e) be ineligi-
ble to receive unemployment insurance benefits;
and (f) not be participating in a W-2 employment
position. An individual in foster care who met the
above criteria when obtaining the subsidized job is
permitted to remain in the program after reaching
the age of 22 until they complete the subsidized
job.
Furthermore, pursuant to the Transform Mil-
waukee policy manual, those meeting the above
eligibility requirements must also reside within the
boundaries of the program's service area and be a
parent with a child support order or a reunification
plan, or be an ex-offender. However, such addi-
tional requirements do not apply to those individ-
uals between 18 and 21 years of age who are in
out-of-home care or reside in Milwaukee County
and are transitioning into independent living.
Transitional Jobs Program. Subsequent to
the enactment of the Transform Milwaukee pro-
gram, 2013 Act 113 authorized DCF to establish a
similar program in areas outside Milwaukee, to the
extent funding is available. DCF must give priori-
ty to areas having relatively high rates of unem-
ployment and childhood poverty and other areas
with special needs that DCF determines should be
given priority. The same eligibility and program
requirements apply to both programs.
The program expanded beyond Milwaukee to
Forest, Langlade, Menominee, Florence, Ashland,
Bayfield, Iron, Sawyer, Rusk, Taylor, and Rock
(Beloit only) Counties. As of September 30, 2016,
184 participants have been placed in transitional
jobs.
Three entities have contracted to administer
the program locally in four geographic regions:
(a) Community Action, Inc. in the Urban South-
west Region (Beloit); (b) UMOS, Inc. in the Ru-
ral Northeast Region (Forest, Langlade, Menom-
inee, and Florence Counties) and the Urban
Southeast Region (Racine county); and (c) the
Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment
Program, Inc. in the Rural Northwest Region
(Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Sawyer, Rusk, and Tay-
lor counties). Generally, the local agencies will
take applications from participants in these areas
and match them with employers.
FoodShare Wisconsin
FoodShare, which is the state's name for the
federal supplemental nutrition assistance program
(SNAP) authorized under Title 7, Chapter 51 of
the U.S. Code, provides federally-funded benefits
to individuals and families to purchase food from
participating grocery stores and other retailers.
The Department of Health Services administers
the program in compliance with federal law and
policy, and contracts with multi-county income
maintenance consortia to conduct eligibility de-
terminations and case management functions. In
Milwaukee County, these services are performed
by state staff at Milwaukee Enrollment Services.
Federal regulations allow states to extend
"categorical eligibility" for SNAP to individuals
35
with income less than 200% of the FPL who also
qualify for TANF-funded services ($40,320 for a
family of three in 2016). This option is currently
in effect in Wisconsin. Participants must also
meet various non-financial criteria, such as citi-
zenship requirements. As of July 1, 2016,
717,400 Wisconsin residents lived in families
that received FoodShare benefits.
For additional information on this program,
see the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's informational
paper entitled, "FoodShare."
Kinship Care
TANF funds are budgeted to support monthly
payments to certain qualifying individuals who
care for relative children. In 2017, a qualifying
caregiver receives $232 per month per child as a
"kinship care" payment. In addition, a relative
who has been appointed as a guardian of a child
may be eligible to receive "long-term kinship
care payments," which are similar to kinship care
payments. In counties and tribes other than Mil-
waukee County, relative caregivers receive these
payments from the county or tribe, while care-
givers in Milwaukee County receive these pay-
ments from DCF (which administers child wel-
fare services in that county). Each calendar year,
DCF allocates funding to counties to support the
estimated costs of making these payments.
The state has implemented a foster care li-
censing system in the child welfare system based
on the level of care needed for a child. As a part
of this effort, there has been a shift to license kin-
ship care relatives in order to be able to claim
additional federal funds. If a child is placed in the
home of a kinship care relative under a court or-
der, the relative is required to apply for a foster
home license. However, the kinship care program
still exists for relative caregivers who do not be-
come licensed foster parents.
Relatives of minor children are eligible for kin-
ship care payments if the following conditions ap-
ply:
• The kinship care relative applies to the
county, tribe, or DCF for kinship care payments
and, if the placement is court-ordered, applies for
a foster home license as well;
• The county, tribe, or DCF determines
that there is a need for the child to be placed with
the kinship care relative and that the placement
with the relative is in the best interests of the
child;
• The county, tribe, or DCF determines
that the child meets, or would be at risk of meet-
ing, one or more of the criteria regarding the need
for protective services;
• The county, tribe, or DCF conducts a
background investigation to determine if the kin-
ship care relative (and employees, prospective
employees, and adult household residents who
would have regular contact with the child) have
any arrests or convictions that could adversely
affect the child or the kinship care relative's abil-
ity to care for the child;
• The kinship care relative states that he or
she (and employees, prospective employees, or
other adults in the residence) have no arrests or
convictions that could adversely affect the child
or the ability to care for the child;
• The kinship care relative cooperates with
the application process, including applying for
other forms of assistance for which the child may
be eligible;
• The kinship care relative is not receiving
any other kinship care, foster care, subsidized
guardianship, or interim caretaker payment with
respect to the same child; and
• The child for whom the kinship care rela-
tive is providing care and maintenance is not re-
ceiving SSI benefits.
36
The kinship care program is not administered
as a statewide benefits program with a single
budget. For this reason, although total funding
budgeted for the program on a statewide basis
may be sufficient to support all kinship care ben-
efits costs, individual counties and tribes may
have surpluses and shortfalls in their kinship care
budgets when their actual caseloads do not corre-
spond with the initial funding allocations they
receive from DCF. DCF makes adjustments to
the initial calendar year county allocations, based
on caseload information the agency receives from
counties. By rule, DCF, counties, and tribes may
place eligible caregivers on waiting lists to re-
ceive kinship care benefits if the amount of fund-
ing allocated for these payments is insufficient to
support caseloads. However, individuals who
care for children under a court order may not be
placed on waiting lists to receive these payments.
SSI Caretaker Supplement
The SSI program provides cash benefits to
low-income individuals who are elderly, blind, or
disabled. SSI recipients with dependent children
receive a "caretaker supplement" payment in addi-
tion to state and federal SSI benefits. Eligible SSI
participants receive $250 per month for the first
child and $150 per month for each additional
child. SSI recipients qualify for the caretaker sup-
plement if (among other criteria) all custodial par-
ents receive state SSI benefits, the child does not
receive an SSI benefit, and the child would have
qualified for the former AFDC program under that
program's eligibility requirements. SSI recipients
may not participate in W-2 employment positions.
For additional information on this program,
see Legislative Fiscal Bureau informational paper
entitled, "Supplemental Security Income."
BadgerCare Plus
Wisconsin's medical assistance program pro-
vides health care benefits to certain individuals
and families through BadgerCare Plus, with eli-
gibility requirements set in federal and state law.
Adults in households with income of no more
than 100% of the FPL ($20,160 for a family of
three in 2016), and children in households with
income of no more than 300% of the FPL
($60,480 for a family of three in 2016) qualify
for coverage. In Wisconsin, most W-2 recipients
qualify for medical assistance benefits because
they meet eligibility requirements for BadgerCare
Plus.
Legislative Fiscal Bureau informational paper
entitled, "Medical Assistance and Related Pro-
grams (BadgerCare Plus, EBD Medicaid, Family
Care, and SeniorCare)" provides additional in-
formation on these health programs.
Learnfare
Dependent children age six through 17 in a W-
2 group that includes a participant in a TEMP
placement, community service job, or transitional
placement are subject to the Learnfare school at-
tendance requirement unless otherwise exempt.
Each child must be enrolled in school, or must
have been enrolled in the immediately preceding
semester. In addition, certain persons must partici-
pate in case management services, including mi-
nor parents, habitual truants (absent from school
without an acceptable excuse for part or all of five
or more school days during a semester), dropouts,
returning dropouts, and children of individuals
participating in W-2 who have been unable to par-
ticipate in assigned activities due to the child’s
school-related problems.
The W-2 agency is required to verify enroll-
ment during a case review. If the children and par-
ent do not provide all information necessary for
the W-2 agency to verify enrollment, the parent is
not eligible for a W-2 employment position.
A financial penalty may be imposed if a child
fails to meet the enrollment requirement or does
not cooperate with case management services
without good cause. According to the administra-
tive rules, the penalty is a reduction in the W-2
37
participant's cash benefit of $50 per month per
penalty, not to exceed $150 per month. The penal-
ty is imposed each month until the child complies
with the Learnfare requirements.
The child or W-2 participant may request a re-
view of an agency decision. If a review is request-
ed within 10 days of the notice of a financial pen-
alty, the penalty will not be imposed until after the
review is completed, unless the petition is with-
drawn or abandoned.
Children First
The children first program provides job train-
ing and work experience to noncustodial parents
to promote the emotional and financial responsi-
bility that a noncustodial parent has for his or her
children. A noncustodial parent who has no cur-
rent means of meeting a child support obligation
may be ordered by the court into the program. A
total of 589 participants were placed in children
first in 2015-16.
The children first program is administered by
DCF, however, DCF may contract with a county
child support agency, county human/social ser-
vices agency, tribal governing body, or W-2 agen-
cy to administer the program locally. In Milwau-
kee County, DCF contracts with the Milwaukee
County Department of Child Support Services,
which subcontracts with the Center for Veterans
Issues, UMOS, and My Father’s House for local
administration.
A participant in children first is considered an
employee of the W-2 agency, county department,
or tribal governing body for purposes of worker's
compensation benefits only. Participants are reim-
bursed a maximum of $25 per month for transpor-
tation costs associated with participating in the
program. The program requires a formal partner-
ship between the county child support agency, the
county/tribal judicial system, and the W-2 agency,
county department, or tribal governing body.
DCF is required to pay a W-2 agency, county,
or tribal governing body administering the pro-
gram not more than $400 per year for each partic-
ipant. Allocations for participating agencies, coun-
ty departments, or tribal governing bodies are
budgeted at $400 per year for each estimated par-
ticipant. Additional program costs are paid by the
agency, county, or tribal governing body. Pursuant
to 2015 Act 331, a court may order a noncustodial
parent to a children first program in another coun-
ty if the program is reasonably close and the other
county agrees to accept the parent.
A participant successfully completes the pro-
gram when he or she either fulfills child support
obligations for three consecutive months, or com-
pletes 16 weeks of employment and training activ-
ities.
Emergency Assistance
The emergency assistance program provides
assistance to needy persons with children in cases
of fire, flood, natural disaster, energy crisis, home-
lessness, or impending homelessness. Benefits are
in the form of cash, voucher, or vendor payment.
W-2 agencies administer the emergency assistance
program at the local level. There were 24,355
emergency assistance grants issued in 2015 and
11,162 for the six-month period from January
through June of 2016.
Eligibility for emergency assistance requires
the applicant to meet financial and non-financial
criteria. The non-financial eligibility criteria are as
follows: (a) the emergency resulted from a fire,
flood, natural disaster, energy crisis, homeless-
ness, or impending homelessness; (b) the child's
caretaker must not have received emergency assis-
tance within the previous 12 months; (c) the fami-
ly must be living and intending to reside in Wis-
consin; (d) the family must be U.S. citizens or
qualifying aliens; (e) the child involved was living
with a qualified caretaker within six months prior
to the application; and (f) assistance is needed to
avoid destitution of the child or to provide living
38
arrangements and the need is not due to the care-
taker refusing to accept employment or training
without good cause.
A family is considered homeless or facing im-
pending homelessness if: (a) the family has left or
must leave its current housing because it is unin-
habitable; (b) the family is experiencing a finan-
cial crisis that makes it very difficult to make a
rent, mortgage, or property tax payment and the
family has been notified that it will be required to
leave if the payment is not made immediately; (c)
the family has a current shelter that is designed for
temporary accommodations such as a motel, hotel,
or other shelter facility; (d) a member of the fami-
ly was a victim of domestic abuse; (e) the family
is without a fixed, regular, and adequate night-
time residence; (f) the family is living in a place
that is not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
regular sleeping accommodation; or (g) the family
has received written or oral notice that they will be
removed from their rental housing because of a
foreclosure action against the owner.
To be eligible for assistance due to an energy
crisis, the family must: (a) have exhausted re-
sources available through the Wisconsin home
energy assistance program; (b) need assistance to
obtain or maintain heat, electricity, water, or sewer
service provided by a utility company; (c) have or
be likely to have an immediate threat to their
health or safety due to the lack of the utility ser-
vice; and (d) have an energy crisis due to reasons
beyond the control of all adult members or the
reasons constitute good cause, as determined by
the W-2 agency.
The financial eligibility criteria include: (a)
gross income at or below 115% of the federal
poverty level ($23,184 for a family of three in
2016); and (b) assets at or below $2,500 in com-
bined equity value, excluding vehicles with an eq-
uity value of up to $10,000 and one home. Gross
income is measured similar to W-2, but excludes
kinship care and foster care payments.
The actual payment amount for emergencies
other than energy crisis is calculated as the lower
of the following two amounts: (a) the total of the
maximum payment amount per group member for
that group size multiplied by the number of mem-
bers in the group; or (b) the total financial need.
The actual payment for energy crisis is the maxi-
mum payment amount for the group ($500) or the
amount needed to obtain or maintain essential util-
ity service, whichever is lower.
The maximum payment amount per group
member for emergencies other than energy crisis
is as follows: (a) $258 per group member when
the group is two members; (b) $172 per group
member when the group is three members; (c)
$129 per group member when the group is four or
five members; and (d) $110 per group member
when the group is six or more members.
Financial need due to impending homelessness
is the unpaid rent and related late fees and court
costs. The financial need due to homelessness is
the first month's rent, security deposit, and neces-
sary household items. Financial need due to fire,
flood, or natural disaster is the total need from all
of the following: (a) temporary housing; (b) first
month's rent and security deposit; (c) clothing; (d)
food; (e) medical care; (f) transportation; (g) nec-
essary appliances and household items; and (h)
necessary home repairs.
Emergency assistance payments can only be
used for temporary or transitional shelter in cases
where the need arises out of a fire, flood, or natu-
ral disaster. Recipients who are homeless or facing
impending homelessness may only use assistance
to obtain or retain permanent living accommoda-
tions. W-2 agencies are also required to determine
the emergency assistance group's social service
needs and make appropriate referrals for services
such as counseling, family shelter, and child care
funding.
W-2 agencies must determine eligibility for
emergency assistance within five working days. If
39
the group is found eligible, assistance must be
provided within the same five working days.
An individual may petition the W-2 agency for
a review within 45 days of the agency's action if:
(a) the application for emergency assistance is not
acted upon promptly; (b) assistance is partially or
wholly denied; (c) the award is modified or can-
celed; or (d) the reward is insufficient. The person
must be given reasonable notice and opportunity
for a review, and a decision must be rendered as
soon as possible. In addition, the individual may
request that DCF review the agency's decision
within 14 days of the decision.
Eligibility for Other Programs
Weatherization Assistance. The weatheriza-
tion assistance program, administered by DOA,
provides energy conservation services, such as
adding insulation, installing programmable ther-
mostats, and modifying, repairing, or replacing
heating systems. A W-2 group in which one
member is a participant in a W-2 cash grant pro-
gram (such as a community service job or a tran-
sitional placement) is categorically eligible for
weatherization assistance.
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Pro-
gram. The low-income home energy assistance
program, administered by DOA, provides finan-
cial assistance to offset energy costs and assists
households facing an energy crisis. Similar to
eligibility for weatherization assistance, a W-2
group in which one member is a participant in a
cash grant program is categorically eligible for
energy assistance.
Federal Nutrition Programs. Children re-
ceiving TANF assistance are automatically eligi-
ble for free school meals and other child nutrition
programs. Women, infants, and children receiv-
ing TANF assistance are also eligible for the
supplemental nutrition program for women, in-
fants, and children.
Homestead Tax Credit. Property taxes or
rent under the homestead tax credit are reduced
by one-twelfth for each month or portion of a
month that a claimant participated in a W-2
community service job or transitional placement
or received W-2 benefits as the custodial parent
of an infant or as a pregnant woman in the third
trimester of an at-risk pregnancy.
Funeral, Burial and Cemetery Costs. DHS
is required to pay funeral, burial, and cemetery
expenses for most individuals who, at the time
they died, were receiving W-2, SSI, or medical
assistance benefits, and whose estates are insuffi-
cient to pay these expenses. The payment for fu-
neral and burial expenses is the lesser of $1,500
or the amount not paid by the decedent's estate or
by other persons. The payment for cemetery ex-
penses is the lesser of $1,000 or the amount not
paid by the decedent's estate or by other persons.
DHS does not provide any reimbursement for
funeral and burial expenses if these expenses ex-
ceed $4,500, and does not provide any reim-
bursement for cemetery expenses if total ceme-
tery expenses exceed $3,500. DHS may waive
these reimbursement limits if it determines that
special circumstance exist. Funeral homes, ceme-
teries and crematories must submit claims for re-
imbursement within 12 months of the date of a
qualifying individual's death.
W-2 Administration
The W-2 program can be administered at the
local level by governmental and private agencies
that enter into contracts with DCF. DCF pays W-2
benefits as a direct state activity and may impose
enrollment limits on any geographic area at any
time during the contract period.
There have been seven sets of contracts since
W-2 replaced AFDC. The seventh contract period
covers calendar years 2013 through 2016. The
2013-2016 W-2 agency contracts provide for up
40
to four additional two-year extensions. As a re-
sult, the current set of contracts could remain in
effect for a period of 12 years until December of
2024. DCF exercised its first option to renew the
contract for a two-year extension through 2018.
Contracting Process
State law authorizes DCF to award a contract
to any person to administer the W-2 program in a
geographical area determined by DCF. DCF may
either award a contract on the basis of a competi-
tive process approved by DOA or award a con-
tract to a W-2 agency if that agency has met per-
formance standards under the immediately pre-
ceding contract period.
The competitive process used to award con-
tracts must include cost and prior experience crite-
ria. Agencies that do not meet the performance
standards under the preceding contract are per-
mitted to apply for the new contract under the
competitive process. Agencies that meet the per-
formance standards but opt not to compete for a
subsequent contract must notify their employees
at least six months prior to the expiration of the
contract.
If no acceptable provider in a geographical
area is selected under the competitive bidding
process, DCF must administer the program in
that area. However, the Secretary of DOA is au-
thorized to waive the normal state procurement
requirements with respect to a contract entered
into by DCF for the administration of W-2 under
certain conditions.
Geographical Areas. DCF must determine the
geographical area that each W-2 agency will cov-
er. No area can be smaller than one county, except
on federally recognized American Indian reserva-
tions and in Milwaukee County. An area may in-
clude more than one county.
If any changes are made to the geographical
area for which a W-2 agency is responsible, DCF
is required to use a competitive process to award
the W-2 contract for that area, regardless of
whether the W-2 agency has met the performance
standards required for continued selection under a
contract.
The current W-2 agency contracts consolidated
the state into 10 geographical areas--four areas in
Milwaukee County and six that divide the rest of
the state. As a result, no W-2 agency earned the
right under the previous W-2 contracts to first se-
lection in their respective geographic areas. Table
9 shows the contracted agencies and regions.
Contract Requirements
W-2 contracts must require each W-2 agency
to establish one or more community steering
committees to participate in the implementation of
the W-2 program. Steering committees: (a) advise
the W-2 agency concerning employment and
training activities; (b) identify and encourage em-
ployers to provide permanent, subsidized jobs, and
work experience opportunities; (c) coordinate with
local workforce development boards; and (d) may
foster and guide the entrepreneurial efforts of W-2
participants and furnish mentors to provide job-
related guidance.
Each steering committee consists of no more
than 20, members. Each county that the W-2
agency serves must be represented on a committee
by a member who is a representative of a county
department responsible for economic develop-
ment, of a city department responsible for eco-
nomic development of a city that is in that county,
or of the business community in that county. The
W-2 agency must appoint at least one representa-
tive of business interests as a committee member.
The committee must appoint a chairperson who
represents business interests. Because W-2 agen-
cies span many counties, they are authorized to
appoint as many committees as necessary to allow
the required representation on each committee
without exceeding the maximum number of com-
mittee members.
41
Each agency contract also must contain provi-
sions requiring the W-2 agency to perform several
activities including: (a) employ at least one finan-
cial and employment planner to work with partici-
pants; (b) employ staff to meet the needs of partic-
ipants who are refugees and have cultural or lin-
guistic barriers; and (c) ensure that services deliv-
ered under W-2, the FoodShare program, and MA
are coordinated in a manner that most effectively
serves the recipients of those services. Under the
2013-2016 W-2 agency contracts, each of the W-2
agencies for the 10 geographical areas must main-
tain the following minimum staff positions: W-2
program director, W-2 program manager, quality
assurance manager, finance manager, IT manager,
and financial and employment planner.
In addition, W-2 agencies are required to: (a)
determine eligibility for and administer child care
assistance if DCF contracts with the W-2 agency
to do so; (b) provide, or contract with another per-
son to provide, credit establishment and credit re-
pair assistance after submission of a proposed plan
to DCF; (c) provide a single-page description of
all benefits and services that may be provided to
any individual by a W-2 agency; and (d) perform
any other tasks specified by DCF in the W-2
agency contract that DCF determines are neces-
sary.
W-2 agencies are also required to establish a
referral relationship with other employment and
training programs, to encourage employers to
make training available on business sites for par-
ticipants, and to work with the Wisconsin Eco-
nomic Development Corporation to coordinate
services. W-2 agencies may also establish a nutri-
tion outreach program with the community steer-
ing committee, and may coordinate with local
food pantries and food banks and other interested
parties to increase the supply of food available.
Table 9: W-2 Agencies
Agency
Region
County
America Works of Wisconsin,
Inc
East Central
Milwaukee
Milwaukee
ResCare Workforce Services Southeast Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, and
Waukesha
Forward Service Corporation North Central
Northeast
Southwest
Adams, Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Door,
Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake,
Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Kewaunee, Lafayette, Langlade,
Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette,
Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Portage, Price,
Richland, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Taylor, Vilas,
Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood
Maximus Human Services, Inc West Central
Milwaukee
Milwaukee
Ross Innovative Employment
Solutions Corp
Northern Milwaukee Milwaukee
UMOS, Inc Southern Milwaukee Milwaukee
Workforce Connections, Inc Western Milwaukee Buffalo, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Pepin,
Trempealeau, and Vernon
Workforce Resource, Inc Northwest Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Douglas,
Dunn, Eau Claire, Iron, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix,
and Washburn
42
Audits of W-2 Agencies. W-2 agencies are
subject to audit by the Legislative Audit Bureau.
The Bureau may inspect, at any time, any W-2
agency's records as the Bureau deems appropriate
and necessary. In performing audits of W-2 agen-
cies, the Bureau may audit only the records and
operations of the agencies that pertain to the re-
ceipt, disbursement, or other handling of state ap-
propriations. If the Bureau inspects the records of
individual participants, it must protect the confi-
dentiality of those records. DCF may also require
a W-2 agency to submit to an independent annual
audit paid for by the agency.
Financial Accountability. Under the con-
tracts, W-2 agencies are paid using a performance-
based model for achieving outcomes for partici-
pants. No payments are provided if W-2 agencies
submit reports or claims that are incomplete or
lacking in documentation. Annual fiscal reviews
ensure that expenditures are for eligible individu-
als and are allowable under federal regulations.
DCF may withhold, deduct, reduce, or recover
payments for disallowed costs.
W-2 agencies may spend money in the manner
they determine to be most effective in reaching the
performance outcomes. Although W-2 agencies
are not paid according to the costs they incurred,
they are required to report all program expenses
incurred for operating W-2 and related programs.
These costs must be allowable costs that comply
with federal TANF cost reporting guidelines.
Performance Standards
DCF must establish performance standards for
the administration of W-2. If an agency does not
meet these standards, DCF may withhold any or
all payment from the agency.
In addition to the statutorily-required criteria,
the W-2 contracts require agencies to meet addi-
tional minimum standards of performance. Fur-
ther, DCF may negotiate with a W-2 agency for
additional outcomes if the agency has attained all
of its target outcomes under the contract.
Payment under the 2013-2016 W-2 Agency
Contracts (2017-2018 extension)
The payment structure under the contracts pro-
vides W-2 agencies with a monthly capitated
payment. In 2017, capitation payments will not
exceed 30% of the maximum contract budgeted
amount. Pursuant to contract changes made in
2016, Milwaukee agencies receive a monthly
capitated payment of $160 per case and agencies
in all other counties receive $200 per case.
The remaining 70% of payments are based on
performance standards and achieving additional
outcomes for applicants. Performance payments
are paid to W-2 agencies each month on a per-
outcome basis as negotiated with each W-2 agen-
cy under the contracts. DCF may pay for addi-
tional outcomes above these targets up to the
maximum total allocation for the geographical
area. For example, W-2 agencies may be paid a
negotiated amount for each unsubsidized job at-
tained by W-2 participants in that agency.
Finally, W-2 agencies may also be reimbursed
for certain allowable costs and for achieving work
participation rates. W-2 agencies that meet the
federal all-families work participation rate of
50% for their geographical area will receive cer-
tain quarterly payments above their total alloca-
tion amounts.
Table 10 displays the total maximum alloca-
tion for capitated payments, performance outcome
payments, cost reimbursement, and work partici-
pation rate payments in calendar year 2016 for
each W-2 agency. The total amount budgeted can-
not be exceeded in terms of payment for capitated
enrollment, performance payments, or those parts
of the W-2 program reimbursed on a cost basis.
W-2 agencies are also reimbursed for allowa-
ble costs for TEMP placements, emergency assis-
tance benefit payments, contracted child care, ref-
ugee cash assistance, and other refugee services.
TEMP cost reimbursements are shown in Table
10.
Table 10: 2016 W-2 Agency Contract Amounts
America ResCare Forward Maximums Ross Innovative Workforce
Works of Workforce Service Human Employment UMOS, Connections, Workforce
Agency Wisconsin, Inc. Services Corporation Services, Inc Solutions Corp. Inc. Inc. Resource, Inc. Total
Maximum Capitated Amount $2,707,477 $1,917,897 $5,793,347 $2,468,424 $2,796,318 $2,623,799 $260,295 $632,442 $19,200,000
Performance Outcome Payments $4,061,210 $2,876,845 $8,690,021 $3,702,615 $4,194,477 $3,935,682 $390,442 $948,663 $28,799,954
Job Attainment 1,291,950 1,108,800 2,694,100 1,177,222 1,390,127 1,371,000 131,400 296,500 9,461,099
Long-Term Participant Job Attainment 131,950 71,200 125,672 134,211 154,154 48,025 8,574 17,614 691,400
Partial Job Attainment 62,994 122,400 348,475 159,910 178,313 63,360 19,800 25,473 980,725
Job Retention 1,302,200 833,450 2,797,560 1,069,151 1,193,940 1,096,500 120,815 268,840 8,682,456
Work Participation Rate Numerator 841,680 475,680 1,745,360 634,320 814,640 853,040 55,040 217,440 5,637,200
Noncustodial Parents Served 121,836 86,305 260,702 111,079 125,834 118,071 11,713 28,460 864,000
SSI/SSDI Attainment 30,000 31,660 212,751 133,712 66,009 135,366 14,400 25,666 649,563
Emergency Assistance Applications 278,600 147,350 505,400 283,010 271,460 250,320 28,700 68,670 1,833,510
Quarterly Incentive Payments
Work Participation $156,077 $107,967 $242,877 $136,336 $159,149 $151,578 $14,960 $31,052 $999,996
Cost Reimbursement - TEMP $1,274,950 $427,295 $850,095 $1,059,570 $1,221,940 $366,140 $0 $0 $5,199,990
Total Contract Amount $8,199,714 $5,330,004 $15,576,340 $7,366,945 $8,371,885 $7,077,199 $665,697 $1,612,157 $54,199,940
44
Capitation rates and enrollment targets, per-
formance-based payments and targets, whether to
delete or add any performance outcomes, and any
other adjustments to the geographic area's budget
may be renegotiated annually if mutually agreed
to do so by the W-2 agency and DCF. This pro-
cess begins in August of each contract year.
Program Funding and Participation
Program Funding
The primary source of funding for the W-2
and child care programs is the federal TANF
block grant. Additional funding is provided by
the federal Child Care Development Fund
(CCDF), state GPR appropriated to DCF, segre-
gated funding from low-income public benefits,
and other program revenues.
Wisconsin's annual TANF block grant alloca-
tion from the federal government is $318.2 mil-
lion. Under federal law, a tribal organization in a
state may elect to operate a separate tribal public
assistance program. For a tribe that submits an
acceptable plan, the federal government will pro-
vide funding to the tribe and reduce the state's
TANF block grant by an equivalent amount. Af-
ter accounting for the nine separate tribal pro-
grams (Bad River, Forest County Potawatomi,
Red Cliff, Mole Lake Sokaogon, Lac du Flam-
beau, Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican, Oneida,
Menominee, and Lac Courte Oreilles), Wiscon-
sin's adjusted TANF block grant is estimated at
$313.9 million in 2016-17.
A key provision of federal law is a mainte-
nance-of-effort (MOE) requirement, which obli-
gates the state to spend an amount of state dollars
equal to 75% of historic state expenditures if the
state meets federal mandatory work requirements
($167.3 million for Wisconsin), or 80% if the
state does not meet these requirements ($178.4
million for Wisconsin). Historic state expendi-
tures are based on the former AFDC program. In
addition, the MOE may be reduced by the per-
centage reduction in the state's TANF block grant
attributable to tribal programs. Wisconsin report-
ed MOE spending of $267.8 million in FFY
2015, which is approximately 120% of historic
expenditures. More information regarding allow-
able state expenditures for the MOE requirement
is provided in Appendix B.
2015-17 Revenues and Expenditures
Table 11 shows actual and budgeted revenues
and expenditures for W-2 and other economic
support programs for the 2015-17 biennium. The
2015-16 figures reflect amounts budgeted in
2015 Wisconsin Act 55, and more recent esti-
mates of actual expenditures in that year as pro-
vided by DCF. The figures for 2016-17 are budg-
eted amounts, which reflect 2015 Act 55, more
recent revenue and expenditure estimates, and
reallocations approved by the Department of
Administration pursuant to Wis. Sta. § 49.175(2).
A description of revenues and expenditures fol-
lows.
Revenues Available for Public Assistance
Programs. As shown in Table 11, total revenues
available for public assistance programs in 2015-
16 were $768.5 million compared to the budgeted
amount of $725.0 million. Revenues are estimat-
ed at $800.2 million for 2016-17.
State Funding. State funding included $179.4
million ($159.8 million GPR, $10.5 million PR,
and $9.1 million SEG) in 2015-16, and is esti-
mated at $174.4 million ($160.4 million GPR,
$4.9 million PR, and $9.1 million SEG) for 2016-
17. The program revenue is primarily from child
support collections assigned to the state by public
assistance recipients. It also includes funds from
welfare fraud and overpayment recoveries, W-2
agency filing fees, and child care licensing fees.
Additional program revenue in 2015-16 was
available from federal income augmentation rev-
45
Table 11: TANF-Related Revenues and Expenditures
Budget Actual Budget 2015-16 2015-16 2016-17 Revenues State General Purpose Revenue (GPR) $160,373,800 $159,781,600* $160,373,800 TANF Block Grant (FED) 312,713,400 312,713,400 313,896,000 TANF Contingency Fund (FED) 15,031,500 30,827,300 10,463,200 Child Care Block Grant (FED) 91,123,300 94,916,500 95,200,900 TANF and CCDF Recoveries (FED) 4,286,600 4,798,300 4,287,600 Carryover from Prior Year (All Funds) 122,617,900 145,791,700 201,961,700 Child Support Collections (PR) 3,010,800 3,914,500 3,010,800 Child Care Licensing Fees (PR) 1,700,400 1,688,100 1,650,000 Income Augmentation Receipts (PR) 4,730,300 4,730,300 0 AFDC Recoveries, State Share (PR) 160,600 81,000 160,600 SSBG from DHS (PR) 100,000 100,000 100,000 Public Benefits Funding (SEG) 9,139,700 9,139,700 9,139,700
Total Available $724,988,300 $768,482,400 $800,244,300
Expenditures Wisconsin Works Subsidized Employment Benefits $83,000,000 $51,340,400 $55,000,000 W-2 Service Contracts 58,336,500 49,630,000 55,000,000
Other TANF Employment Programs Transform Milwaukee/Transitional Jobs 6,000,000 3,841,700 8,500,000
Child Care Direct Child Care Subsidies 262,064,700 255,359,800 280,719,700 Quality Care for Quality Kids 15,492,700 17,088,000 15,492,700 Child Care State Administration 35,181,800 34,970,700 33,185,500
Other Benefits Kinship Care Benefits 21,222,700 20,621,600 21,435,000 Caretaker Supplement for Children of SSI Recipients 31,338,200 23,449,800 31,338,200 Emergency Assistance 8,500,000 6,592,000 8,500,000
Child Support Related to W-2 Children First 1,140,000 673,600 1,140,000
Administrative Support State Administration 15,080,200 13,533,500 15,295,800 Local Fraud Aids 605,500 515,800 605,500
Grant Programs Grants to Boys and Girls Clubs of America 1,175,000 1,163,100 1,175,000 Wisconsin Community Services 400,000 380,200 400,000 Fostering Futures - Connections Count 0 0 360,300 GED Testing 127,000 47,300 115,000 Adult Literacy 41,600 15,500 41,600 Legal Services 500,000 252,800 500,000
Expenditures in Other Programs Earned Income Tax Credit 67,600,000 67,600,000 69,700,000 SSBG Transfer to DHS/Community Aids 15,018,700 15,018,700 14,653,500 Child Welfare Safety Services 3,647,200 3,101,700 5,392,700 Child Welfare Prevention Services 1,389,600 1,315,500 1,389,600
Total Expenditures $627,861,400 $566,520,700 $618,440,100
Ending Balance $97,126,900 $201,961,700 $181,804,200
Source: Based on information available from the Department of Children and Families as of December, 2016.
*Does not include $592,200 GPR lapsed pursuant to 2015 Act 55.
46
enue, referred to as "targeted case management
funds," which are federal Title XIX medical as-
sistance reimbursements for certain case man-
agement activities conducted by child welfare
caseworkers. Such funds will no longer be
claimed in future years. The segregated revenue
was established in 2003 Act 33, which created an
annual appropriation funded from segregated
low-income public benefits funding.
Annual Federal Funding. Federal funding to-
taled $443.2 million in 2015-16 and is estimated
at $423.9 million in 2016-17. Federal funding
includes the basic TANF block grant ($312.7
million in 2015-16 and $313.9 million in 2014-
15), CCDF ($94.9 million in 2015-16 and $95.2
million in 2016-17), TANF and CCDF overpay-
ment recoveries ($4.8 million in 2015-16 and
$4.3 million in 2016-17), and TANF contingency
funds ($30.8 million in 2015-16 and $10.5 mil-
lion in 2016-17).
All Funds Carryover. Table 11 shows federal
and state funding carrying over from the prior
year in the amounts of $145.8 million in 2015-16
and $202.0 million in 2016-17.
Public Assistance Expenditures. Funding for
W-2 and other economic support programs is al-
located in the 2015-17 biennium as shown in the
following paragraphs. If more funds are spent
than were budgeted, the additional funds would
come from programs with underspending in that
year and from additional revenue.
W-2 Subsidized Employment Benefits. Budg-
eted expenditures for W-2 benefits were $83.0
million in 2015-16 and $55.0 million in 2016-17.
This includes wage subsidies and cash grants for
participants in TEMP placements, community
service jobs, transitional placements, custodial
parents of newborn infants, and at-risk pregnant
women. Actual expenditures for subsidized em-
ployment benefits in 2015-16 were $51.3 million.
As shown in Figure 1, benefit payments in-
creased significantly during the 2008-2009 reces-
sion and decreased substantially after 2014. DCF
indicates that the decrease in W-2 participation
was in part due to jobs gains after the recession
ended. Other contributing factors are the 48-
month lifetime participation limit on W-2 work
placements and renewed emphasis on work re-
quirements by W-2 agencies and sanctions for
nonparticipation in work activities.
W-2 Agency Contracts. Funding of $58.3 mil-
lion in 2015-16 and $55.0 million in 2016-17 was
budgeted for W-2 agency contracts (capitation
and performance). Actual expenditures for W-2
contracts in 2015-16 were $49.6 million.
Transform Milwaukee/Transitional Jobs Pro-
gram. Under 2015 Wisconsin Act 55, the costs
for the Transform Milwaukee and Transitional
Jobs programs were budgeted at $6.0 million in
2015-16 and at $7.0 million in 2016-17. Via let-
ter dated September 19, 2016, pursuant to Wis.
Stat. § 49.175(2) the Department of Administra-
tion approved DCF's request to transfer $1.5 mil-
lion from the TANF allocation for W-2 benefits
to the Transform Milwaukee and Transitional
Jobs allocation. As a result, the total budgeted
amount is $8.5 million in 2016-17. Actual ex-
penditures in 2015-16 totaled $3.8 million.
Child Care Program. The child care program
provides funds for subsidies, programs to im-
prove child care quality and availability, and state
administration of child care, including child care
licensing, as described below. The total amount
budgeted for the child care program was $312.7
million in 2015-16 and $329.4 million in 2016-
17.
a. Child Care Subsidies. A total of $262.0
million in 2015-16 and $280.7 million in 2016-17
was budgeted for child care subsidies. Actual
subsidies for 2015-16 totaled $255.4 million.
b. Child Care State Administration. A total
47
of $35.2 million in 2015-16 and $33.2 million in
2016-17 was budgeted for state administration of
the child care program, including fraud detection
and prevention activities and licensing and moni-
toring family and group child care facilities.
Funding also includes local administration in
Milwaukee County. Actual expenditures totaled
$35.0 million in 2015-16.
c. Quality Care for Quality Kids. A total of
$15.5 million in 2015-16 and 2016-17 was budg-
eted for programs to improve child care quality
and availability, including the quality rating and
improvement system, called YoungStar. These
funds are for activities designed to increase the
capacity and quality of child care providers in the
state.
A more thorough description of programs
funded under Quality Care for Quality Kids is
included in the "Indirect Child Care Services"
section of this paper. Actual expenditures totaled
$17.1 million in 2015-16.
Kinship Care. Budgeted expenditures for kin-
ship care were $21.2 million in 2015-16 com-
pared to actual expenditures of $20.6 million. For
2016-17, budgeted expenditures total $21.4 mil-
lion.
Caretaker Supplement Program. The caretak-
er supplement benefit is $250 for the first eligible
child and $150 for each additional eligible child
The caretaker supplement program is funded en-
tirely with TANF funds. Funding of $31.3 mil-
lion was budgeted in 2015-16 and 2016-17 for
the caretaker supplement program benefits and
administrative costs. A total of $23.5 million was
expended in 2015-16.
Emergency Assistance. A total of $8.5 million
was budgeted for emergency assistance in 2015-
Figure 1: Total W-2 Benefits January, 2006, through September, 2016
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$8,000,000
$9,000,000
48
16 and $7.0 million is budgeted in 2016-17. Ac-
tual expenditures were approximately $6.6 mil-
lion in 2015-16.
DWD began tracking emergency assistance
grants in January, 2002. The number of grants
issued in calendar year 2002 totaled 7,820. After
2005 Act 25 allowed emergency assistance to be
provided for homelessness or impending home-
lessness not related to domestic violence once in
a 12-month period, rather than once in a 36-
month period under prior law, emergency assis-
tance grants issued increased to 24,355 in 2015.
Children First. Budgeted expenditures for the
children first employment program for noncusto-
dial parents are $1.1 million annually. Actual ex-
penditures for 2015-16 were $0.7 million.
State Administration and Local Fraud Aids.
The budget provided $15.1 million in 2015-16
and $15.3 million in 2016-17 for state admin-
istration of the W-2 program and other public
assistance programs being funded by TANF. An
additional $0.6 million is budgeted annually to
aid local fraud prevention and program integrity
activities. In 2015-16, actual expenditures were
$13.5 million for state administration and $0.5
million for local fraud aids.
Grant Programs. TANF funding supports var-
ious programs that provide services to eligible
low-income families, as described below. The
total amount budgeted for grant programs was
$2.2 million in 2015-16 and $2.6 million in 2016-
17
a. Boys and Girls Clubs. A total of $1.2
million annually is budgeted for grants to the
Boys and Girls Clubs of America. These grants
support programs that improve social, academic,
and employment skills of youth. Actual expendi-
tures in 2015-16 totaled $1.2 million.
b. Wisconsin Community Services. A total
of $0.4 million annually supports Wisconsin
Community Services, Inc. The funding is used
for community building training for workshop
facilitators to provide services for TANF-eligible
individuals in the City of Milwaukee. In 2015-16,
actual expenditures for Wisconsin Community
Services, Inc. totaled $0.4 million.
c. Fostering Futures - Connections Count.
Beginning in 2016-17, $0.4 million is budgeted
to support the Fostering Futures - Connections
Count pilot program, which assists low-income
families with young children by connecting them
to formal and informal support programs and ser-
vices that meet their needs.
d. High School Equivalency and General
Education Development (GED) Test Assistance.
A total of $0.1 million in 2015-16 and 2016-17
was budgeted to support GED test preparation for
TANF-eligible individuals. Actual expenditures
in 2015-16 were $47,300.
e. Adult Literacy Grants. Funding of
$41,600 annually supports literacy training to
TANF-eligible adults with low literacy or limited
English proficiency skills. Grant recipients coor-
dinate with W-2 agencies. Actual expenditures in
2015-16 were $15,500.
f. Legal Services for Low Income Families.
A total of $0.5 million annually supports the
Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation (WisTAF),
a non-profit organization established by the Wis-
consin Supreme Court. The grants support specif-
ic legal services for TANF-eligible families with
incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level,
such as those related to domestic abuse, sexual
abuse, and restraining orders for certain at-risk
elderly and disabled individuals. Actual expendi-
tures in 2015-16 were $252,800.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The feder-
al TANF regulations allow states to utilize TANF
funds for the refundable portion of state earned
income tax credits. In total, the EITC cost $101.8
49
million in 2015-16. Of this amount TANF funded
$67.6 million. The remaining portion of the credit
is paid by GPR. TANF expenditures budgeted for
2016-17 were $69.7 million.
TANF for Community Aids and Children and
Family Aids. Under current federal law, states are
allowed to transfer up to 10% of the state's TANF
block grant funds to be used to carry out pro-
grams under the social services block grant
(SSBG). In the past, the transfer amount has var-
ied between 4.25% and 10%. These TANF funds
are distributed to counties through community
aids and children and family aids. A total of
$15.0 million (4.8%) of the TANF block grant
was budgeted for the SSBG in 2015-16 to be
used for community aids and children and family
aids. The actual amount transferred in 2015-16
was $15.0 million. The 2016-17 budgeted
amount is $14.7 million.
Child Welfare Safety Services. A total of $3.6
million in 2015-16 and $5.4 million in 2016-17
was budgeted for child welfare safety services in
Milwaukee County. In 2015-16, TANF expendi-
tures for safety services totaled $3.1 million.
Safety services are available to families in
Milwaukee County where abuse or neglect issues
have been identified, but the Division of Mil-
waukee Child Protection Services (DMCPS) has
determined that the child can remain at home
safely.
In 2015, 173 children in Wisconsin and 113
families in Milwaukee received child welfare
safety services. These services may include: (a)
supervision, observation, basic parenting assis-
tance, social and emotional support, and basic
home management; (b) child care; (c) routine and
emergency drug and alcohol screening and treat-
ment services; (d) family crisis counseling; (e)
routine and emergency mental health services; (f)
respite care; (g) housing assistance; and (h)
transportation. Families receive services that are
appropriate to their specific situations based on
the safety plan.
Child Welfare Prevention Services. The bien-
nial budget provides $1.4 million in TANF funds
annually for child abuse prevention services in
Milwaukee County. DCF provides funding to re-
duce the incidence of child abuse and neglect in
Milwaukee County through two different ser-
vices: (a) home-visiting services for parents in
Milwaukee County; and (b) community-based
grants for prevention services. TANF expendi-
tures totaled $1.3 million in 2015-16.
Ending TANF Balance. Table 11 shows an
estimated ending TANF balance of $181.8 mil-
lion in 2016-17. However, this is subject to
change as the figures for 2016-17 are budgeted
amounts.
Table 12 shows the annual ongoing TANF
revenues and expenditures based on amounts
budgeted in 2016-17 with adjustments to account
for one-time revenues (such as carryover funds).
As shown in the table, annual expenditures ex-
ceed annual revenues by $20.6 million.
Table 12: 2016-17 TANF Structural Deficit
Ongoing Revenues $587.8 Annual Expenditures 608.4
Structural Deficit - $20.6
As noted above, Table 12 is based on budget-
ed amounts in 2016-17. The TANF structural
deficit could be more if actual expenditures ex-
ceed the amounts budgeted. On the other hand, if
actual expenditures are less than the amounts
budgeted, the structural deficit would be lower.
Program Participation
Table 13 shows the number of families receiv-
ing TANF-related cash benefits for 1998 through
2016. Figure 2 shows the change in the number
of cases receiving cash benefits from the AFDC
and TANF programs from 1985 to 2016.
AFDC and W-2 Recipients. The last month
of AFDC was August, 1997. In that month, there
Table 13: TANF Program Participation
Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
W-2 Cash Benefit
Transitional Placements 2,261 2,452 2,510 2,665 3,335 4,003 4,703 3,513 2,953 2,858 2,543 2,822 3,981 4,593 4,322 4,821 4,496 3,396 2,511
Community Service Jobs 6,822 3,899 3,159 4,133 5,325 5,737 5,889 2,951 2,396 2,371 2,229 3,875 7,910 9,613 8,443 10,503 9,457 5,618 3,732
Trial Jobs/ TEMP 83 42 25 19 37 18 29 21 13 11 5 9 20 15 14 3 0 0 13
Caring for a Newborn 881 996 1,078 1,245 1,296 1,529 1,392 1,396 1,339 1,466 1,579 1,643 1,652 1,677 1,011 858 943 729 640
At-Risk Pregnant Women 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 41 40 33 35 24 20
Other TANF Cash Benefits
Other Subsidized Jobs
Programs* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 15 0 0 0 0 137 54 80
Kinship Care 5,163 5,368 6,232 4,893 5,200 5,263 5,188 5,149 5,320 5,581 5,603 8,655 7,770 6,773 6,571 6,803 6,821 4,709 4,661
Caretaker Supplement 5,668 5,516 5,576 5,889 5,646 5,925 5,992 5,883 5,744 6,150 6,029 ,607 6,955 7,195 7,241 6,991 6,963 6,016 5,755
Total Cash-Benefit Cases 20,878 18,273 18,580 18,844 20,839 22,475 23,193 18,913 17,765 18,437 17,997 23,626 28,324 29,907 27,642 30,012 28,852 20,546 17,412
Percent Change -40.3% -12.5% 1.7% 1.4% 10.6% 7.9% 3.2% -18.5% -6.1% 3.8% -2.4% 31.3% 19.9% 5.6% -7.6% 8.6% -3.9% -28.8% -15.3%
Cumulative Change
Since 1997** -40.3% -47.7% -46.8% -46.1% -40.4% -35.7% -33.6% -45.9% -49.2% -47.2% -48.5% -32.4% -18.9% -14.4% -20.9% -14.1% -17.4% -41.2% -50.2%
*Subsidized jobs programs include the real work real pay, transform Milwaukee, and transitional jobs programs.
**AFDC was phased out from September, 1997, to August, 1998. In August, 1997, there were a total of 34,948 cases with a cash benefit (34,491 in AFDC plus 457 in kinship care).
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
Figure 2: Total Wisconsin Cases with a Cash Benefit
52
were 34,491 families receiving an AFDC benefit,
including those cases in which the child receiving
AFDC was living with a non-legally responsible
relative or was the child of an SSI parent. Begin-
ning in September, 1997, W-2 agencies began
converting AFDC cases to the W-2 program.
Cases converted to the W-2 program could have
been placed in a W-2 employment position and
received a cash benefit under one of those W-2
employment positions.
Alternatively, in some cases the W-2 appli-
cant may have been determined to be eligible for
case management services only. Those receiving
only case management services include: (a) indi-
viduals who are currently working in unsubsi-
dized employment and are receiving case man-
agement to retain or advance in their jobs; (b)
pregnant women with no other children; (c) non-
custodial parents; or (d) minor parents.
Breakdown into W-2 Employment Posi-
tions. During the month of September, 2016,
DCF reported 6,916 cases receiving a W-2 cash
benefit. Of those, 36.3% were placed in transi-
tional placements, 54.0% were placed in a com-
munity service job, 0.2 % were placed in TEMP
subsidized employment, 9.3% received a benefit
as a caretaker of a child under eight weeks of age,
and 0.2% received at-risk pregnancy cash bene-
fits. Another 5,336 cases were receiving case
management services only.
Kinship Care and Caretaker Supplement
Recipients. When comparing caseloads for the
AFDC program with the W-2 program, it is im-
portant to include the kinship care and SSI care-
taker supplement cases, as these cases previously
received AFDC benefits and are included in the
August, 1997, AFDC caseloads.
Kinship Care. Counties began transitioning
cases from AFDC to kinship care on January 1,
1997. Beginning April 1, 1997, all new cases
were assessed for kinship care eligibility. It was
estimated that there were 457 caretakers receiv-
ing kinship care payments in August, 1997.
Counties were required to transfer all eligible
cases to kinship care by December 31, 1997. The
number of kinship care cases was at a high of
8,655 in September, 2009, and was at 4,661 in
September, 2016. The kinship care caseload has
declined with the effort to have kinship care par-
ents become licensed foster parents beginning dur-
ing the 2009-11 biennium.
Caretaker Supplement. Beginning January 1,
1998, AFDC cases involving dependent children
of SSI recipients were converted to the SSI care-
taker supplement. The number of families receiv-
ing a caretaker supplement was 5,755 in Septem-
ber, 2016.
Caseload Trend. Historically, Wisconsin's
AFDC caseload peaked at over 100,300 in April,
1986, and then began to decline. By 1990, the
average monthly number of cases had fallen
19.2% as compared to the average monthly case-
load for 1986. From 1991 to 1992 the average
monthly number of cases increased slightly be-
fore beginning an extended decline. In March
1996, the caseload was 62,900, when the state
implemented two significant reforms: the self-
sufficiency first and pay-for-performance initia-
tives. By August, 1997, the caseload had declined
44.4% compared to the March, 1996, caseload.
Since the peak Wisconsin caseload in April,
1986, the number of cases receiving cash benefits
in Wisconsin has declined by 82.6%.
Nationwide, the number of families receiving
cash benefits under the AFDC program increased
nearly every year from 1986 to 1994. In August,
1986, there were approximately 12.2 million
AFDC recipients, representing 5.1% of the total
U.S. population. In 1994, the caseload had in-
creased to 14.2 million recipients representing
5.5% of the total population. After 1994, howev-
er, national caseloads declined after the enact-
ment of the federal welfare reform legislation in
August, 1996. As shown in Figure 3, nationwide
53
caseloads continued to decline to fewer than 3.8
million recipients in August, 2008. In 2009, case-
loads increased in response to the recession up to
4.5 million cases in December, 2010, but gradu-
ally declined during the subsequent recovery.
Overall, according to caseload data from the
federal Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices, from August, 1996, to June, 2016, case-
loads declined in every state and territory, result-
ing in a drop in the total number of TANF recipi-
ents over that time period of 78.3% nationwide.
The average monthly number of TANF recip-
ients nationwide for June, 2016, was 1.16 million
families composed of 2.66 million individuals,
which represented approximately 0.8% of the
population. Approximately 2.0 million of these
recipients were children.
It should be noted that it is unclear how many
cases nationwide now receive benefits under pro-
grams similar to the kinship care program and the
caretaker supplement program in Wisconsin.
These cases are not all included in national case-
load data because they are not all funded with
TANF. Therefore, the national decline in case-
loads of 78.3% is likely overstated by an un-
known amount.
Additional W-2 Caseload Information
More information regarding the current W-2
caseload is presented in Attachments 6 through 9.
Attachment 6 shows the paid placements for each
county in the state for September, 2016.
Attachment 7 shows the number of W-2 partic-
ipants in September, 2016, including both subsi-
dized and unsubsidized employment, by age of the
W-2 participant. W-2 participants must be 18
years of age or older. Attachment 8 provides in-
formation regarding the number of children in W-
2 groups in September, 2016, showing an average
number of children of 1.9 per family. It should be
noted that the number of participants in Attach-
ment 7 is higher than the number of W-2 groups in
Attachment 8 because a W-2 group may have
Figure 3: Nationwide Number of TANF Recipients
October, 1999, to June, 2016
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
5,000,000
5,500,000
6,000,000
6,500,000
7,000,000
54
more than one participant.
Finally, Attachment 9 provides information on
the interaction between W-2 and other services. It
shows the total number of cases where participants
were receiving W-2 cash assistance and/or case
management services for the month of September,
2016. It compares the total W-2 caseload with the
number of W-2 cases that also receive medical
assistance, FoodShare, or child care services.
Child Care Participation
Child care subsidies have increased from
$127.2 million in 1998-99 to $348.8 million in
2008-09 and fallen back to $239.9 million in
2015-16. These figures do not include expendi-
tures for local administration, on-site child care,
and migrant child care. Direct child care subsidies
expenditures in Table 11 do include these ex-
penditures.
Table 14 shows the level of growth in the sub-
sidy program by comparing data for fiscal years
1998-99 through 2015-16. As reflected in Table
14, until 2008-09, the growth was due primarily to
the increase in child care caseloads, although the
average family subsidy amount had also increased.
Program growth declined beginning in 2009-10
due to several factors, including initiatives to de-
tect and prevent fraudulent activity, the economic
downturn in 2008 and 2009, and a decline in the
number of families receiving subsidies through
Wisconsin Shares. DCF also reduced reimburse-
ments to licensed family child care providers by
paying for actual attendance of children, rather
than the number of hours authorized for care.
Growth in subsidies resumed in 2015-16 after the
increases in the maximum reimbursement rates in
October, 2013, and November, 2014.
Table 14: Child Care Subsidy Growth Average Average Average Average Monthly Percent Number of Percent Number of Percent Subsidy Percent Fiscal Year Subsidies Growth Children Growth Families Growth Per Family Growth
1998-99* $10,597,636 26,763 15,412 $688 1999-00 13,006,963 22.7% 31,486 17.6% 17,750 15.2% 733 6.6% 2000-01 18,181,669 39.8 39,520 25.5 22,435 26.4 810 10.6 2001-02 20,875,288 14.8 44,985 13.8 25,769 14.9 810 0.0 2002-03 22,487,129 7.7 48,584 8.0 27,897 8.3 806 -0.5 2003-04 23,485,024 4.4 51,328 5.6 29,496 5.7 796 -1.2 2004-05 24,527,416 4.4 52,341 2.0 30,166 2.3 813 2.1 2005-06 25,625,124 4.5 54,191 3.5 31,006 2.8 826 1.6 2006-07 26,659,373 4.0 56,566 4.4 32,199 3.8 828 0.2 2007-08 27,824,584 4.4 58,379 3.2 32,820 1.9 848 2.4 2008-09 29,069,562 4.5 59,730 2.3 33,436 1.9 869 2.5 2009-10 26,319,216 -9.5 56,720 -5.0 32,443 -3.0 811 -6.7 2010-11 23,044,945 -12.4 54,055 -4.7 31,748 -2.1 726 -10.5 2011-12 22,571,848 -2.1 52,812 -2.3 31,501 -0.8 717 -1.3 2012-13 20,025,151 -11.3 49,147 -6.9 29,518 -6.3 678 -5.3 2013-14 19,615,076 -2.0 46,601 -5.2 27,867 -5.6 704 3.8 2014-15 19,781,256 0.8 46,131 -1.0 27,357 -1.8 723 2.7 2015-16 19,993,320 1.1 45,145 -2.1 26,476 -3.2 755 4.4
Total Growth 88.7% 68.7% 71.8% 9.8%
*First full year for which data is available. The program began in 1997-98.
Source: Department of Children and Families
ATTACHMENT 1
Maximum Child Care Reimbursement Rates, Effective November 9, 2014
Licensed Group Licensed Family Regularly Certified Provisionally Certified 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+
Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly
Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate
Counties Adams $113.00 $3.23 $110.00 $3.14 $110.00 $3.14 $105.00 $3.00 $123.00 $3.51 $119.00 $3.40 $119.00 $3.40 $105.00 $3.00 $2.64 $2.55 $2.55 $2.25 $1.76 $1.70 $1.70 $1.50 Ashland 146.00 4.17 145.00 4.14 132.00 3.77 130.00 3.71 131.00 3.74 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.81 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.87 1.57 1.57 1.57 Barron 121.00 3.46 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 115.00 3.29 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.46 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.64 1.57 1.57 1.57 Bayfield 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 116.00 3.31 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57 Brown 207.00 5.91 170.00 4.86 149.00 4.26 148.00 4.23 143.00 4.09 132.00 3.77 127.00 3.63 123.00 3.51 3.06 2.83 2.72 2.64 2.04 1.89 1.81 1.76 Buffalo 138.00 3.94 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 124.00 3.54 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.66 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.77 1.57 1.57 1.57 Burnett 138.00 3.94 126.00 3.60 126.00 3.60 126.00 3.60 132.00 3.77 119.00 3.40 115.00 3.29 115.00 3.29 2.83 2.55 2.46 2.46 1.89 1.70 1.64 1.64 Calumet 182.00 5.20 165.00 4.71 153.00 4.37 144.00 4.11 156.00 4.46 144.00 4.11 144.00 4.11 130.00 3.71 3.34 3.09 3.09 2.79 2.23 2.06 2.06 1.86 Chippewa 162.00 4.63 153.00 4.37 149.00 4.26 135.00 3.86 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Clark 121.00 3.46 117.00 3.34 117.00 3.34 117.00 3.34 112.00 3.20 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.40 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.60 1.57 1.57 1.57 Columbia 169.00 4.83 156.00 4.46 140.00 4.00 130.00 3.71 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Crawford 172.00 4.91 160.00 4.57 139.00 3.97 127.00 3.63 131.00 3.74 115.00 3.29 115.00 3.29 115.00 3.29 2.81 2.46 2.46 2.46 1.87 1.64 1.64 1.64 Dane 250.00 7.14 221.00 6.31 193.00 5.51 181.00 5.17 205.00 5.86 193.00 5.51 185.00 5.29 164.00 4.69 4.39 4.14 3.96 3.51 2.93 2.76 2.64 2.34 Dodge 165.00 4.71 165.00 4.71 143.00 4.09 143.00 4.09 135.00 3.86 125.00 3.57 122.00 3.49 122.00 3.49 2.89 2.68 2.61 2.61 1.93 1.79 1.74 1.74 Door 162.00 4.63 152.00 4.34 144.00 4.11 140.00 4.00 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 123.00 3.51 123.00 3.51 2.81 2.68 2.64 2.64 1.87 1.79 1.76 1.76 Douglas 165.00 4.71 157.00 4.49 141.00 4.03 132.00 3.77 150.00 4.29 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 2.89 2.89 2.79 2.14 1.93 1.93 1.86 Dunn 148.00 4.23 145.00 4.14 138.00 3.94 123.00 3.51 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Eau Claire 184.00 5.26 172.00 4.91 158.00 4.51 149.00 4.26 165.00 4.71 149.00 4.26 149.00 4.26 149.00 4.26 3.54 3.19 3.19 3.19 2.36 2.13 2.13 2.13 Florence 153.00 4.37 153.00 4.37 135.00 3.86 126.00 3.60 153.00 4.37 153.00 4.37 117.00 3.34 117.00 3.34 3.28 3.28 2.51 2.51 2.19 2.19 1.67 1.67 Fond du Lac 171.00 4.89 153.00 4.37 138.00 3.94 137.00 3.91 138.00 3.94 127.00 3.63 127.00 3.63 127.00 3.63 2.96 2.72 2.72 2.72 1.97 1.81 1.81 1.81 Forest 158.00 4.51 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 113.00 3.23 158.00 4.51 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 113.00 3.23 3.39 2.89 2.89 2.42 2.26 1.93 1.93 1.61 Grant 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 121.00 3.46 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.59 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.73 1.57 1.57 1.57 Green 171.00 4.89 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Green Lake 161.00 4.60 145.00 4.14 139.00 3.97 139.00 3.97 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Iowa 152.00 4.34 140.00 4.00 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 115.00 3.29 115.00 3.29 115.00 3.29 2.68 2.46 2.46 2.46 1.79 1.64 1.64 1.64 Iron 135.00 3.86 125.00 3.57 124.00 3.54 124.00 3.54 135.00 3.86 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.89 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.93 1.79 1.71 1.71 Jackson 154.00 4.40 117.00 3.34 117.00 3.34 117.00 3.34 123.00 3.51 110.00 3.14 107.00 3.06 99.00 2.83 2.64 2.36 2.29 2.12 1.76 1.57 1.53 1.41 Jefferson 182.00 5.20 154.00 4.40 137.00 3.91 137.00 3.91 164.00 4.69 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.51 2.89 2.89 2.79 2.34 1.93 1.93 1.86 Juneau 161.00 4.60 161.00 4.60 161.00 4.60 161.00 4.60 124.00 3.54 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.66 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.77 1.57 1.57 1.57 Kenosha 222.00 6.34 200.00 5.71 176.00 5.03 171.00 4.89 190.00 5.43 175.00 5.00 165.00 4.71 155.00 4.43 4.07 3.75 3.54 3.32 2.71 2.50 2.36 2.21 Kewaunee 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 119.00 3.40 113.00 3.23 113.00 3.23 113.00 3.23 2.55 2.42 2.42 2.42 1.70 1.61 1.61 1.61 Lacrosse 171.00 4.89 143.00 4.09 143.00 4.09 141.00 4.03 143.00 4.09 132.00 3.77 127.00 3.63 116.00 3.31 3.06 2.83 2.72 2.49 2.04 1.89 1.81 1.66 Lafayette 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57 Langlade 162.00 4.63 145.00 4.14 140.00 4.00 130.00 3.71 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Lincoln 150.00 4.29 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 135.00 3.86 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.89 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.93 1.79 1.71 1.71
56
ATTACHMENT 1 (continued)
Maximum Child Care Reimbursement Rates, Effective November 9, 2014
Licensed Group Licensed Family Regularly Certified Provisionally Certified 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+
Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly
Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate
Manitowoc $165.00 $4.71 $149.00 $4.26 $149.00 $4.26 $145.00 $4.14 $149.00 $4.26 $135.00 $3.86 $135.00 $3.86 $130.00 $3.71 $3.19 $2.89 $2.89 $2.79 $2.13 $1.93 $1.93 $1.86 Marathon 189.00 5.40 165.00 4.71 153.00 4.37 149.00 4.26 150.00 4.29 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 2.89 2.89 2.79 2.14 1.93 1.93 1.86 Marinette 138.00 3.94 121.00 3.46 121.00 3.46 121.00 3.46 131.00 3.74 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 2.81 2.49 2.49 2.49 1.87 1.66 1.66 1.66 Marquette 152.00 4.34 145.00 4.14 145.00 4.14 145.00 4.14 125.00 3.57 122.00 3.49 122.00 3.49 122.00 3.49 2.68 2.61 2.61 2.61 1.79 1.74 1.74 1.74 Milwaukee 246.00 7.03 220.00 6.29 191.00 5.46 179.00 5.11 190.00 5.43 177.00 5.06 165.00 4.71 155.00 4.43 4.07 3.79 3.54 3.32 2.71 2.53 2.36 2.21 Monroe 146.00 4.17 132.00 3.77 120.00 3.43 116.00 3.31 131.00 3.74 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 110.00 3.14 2.81 2.49 2.49 2.36 1.87 1.66 1.66 1.57 Oconto 148.00 4.23 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 111.00 3.17 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.38 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.59 1.57 1.57 Oneida 162.00 4.63 138.00 3.94 121.00 3.46 121.00 3.46 135.00 3.86 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 2.89 2.49 2.49 2.49 1.93 1.66 1.66 1.66 Outagamie 190.00 5.43 174.00 4.97 157.00 4.49 155.00 4.43 150.00 4.29 136.00 3.89 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 2.91 2.89 2.79 2.14 1.94 1.93 1.86 Ozaukee 218.00 6.23 205.00 5.86 181.00 5.17 161.00 4.60 160.00 4.57 153.00 4.37 149.00 4.26 149.00 4.26 3.43 3.28 3.19 3.19 2.29 2.19 2.13 2.13 Pepin 138.00 3.94 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 132.00 3.77 123.00 3.51 123.00 3.51 110.00 3.14 2.83 2.64 2.64 2.36 1.89 1.76 1.76 1.57 Pierce 170.00 4.86 160.00 4.57 140.00 4.00 130.00 3.71 131.00 3.74 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 120.00 3.43 2.81 2.68 2.57 2.57 1.87 1.79 1.71 1.71 Polk 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57 Portage 189.00 5.40 165.00 4.71 153.00 4.37 145.00 4.14 150.00 4.29 136.00 3.89 136.00 3.89 136.00 3.89 3.21 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.14 1.94 1.94 1.94 Price 144.00 4.11 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57 Racine 215.00 6.14 187.00 5.34 170.00 4.86 163.00 4.66 182.00 5.20 175.00 5.00 165.00 4.71 155.00 4.43 3.90 3.75 3.54 3.32 2.60 2.50 2.36 2.21 Richland 161.00 4.60 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 151.00 4.31 131.00 3.74 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.81 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.87 1.57 1.57 1.57 Rock 193.00 5.51 173.00 4.94 171.00 4.89 154.00 4.40 161.00 4.60 149.00 4.26 149.00 4.26 149.00 4.26 3.45 3.19 3.19 3.19 2.30 2.13 2.13 2.13 Rusk 132.00 3.77 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 110.00 3.14 124.00 3.54 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.66 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.77 1.57 1.57 1.57 St Croix 181.00 5.17 169.00 4.83 156.00 4.46 141.00 4.03 140.00 4.00 126.00 3.60 122.00 3.49 122.00 3.49 3.00 2.70 2.61 2.61 2.00 1.80 1.74 1.74 Sauk 176.00 5.03 144.00 4.11 143.00 4.09 130.00 3.71 150.00 4.29 136.00 3.89 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 2.91 2.89 2.79 2.14 1.94 1.93 1.86 Sawyer 127.00 3.63 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57 Shawano 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 111.00 3.17 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.38 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.59 1.57 1.57 Sheboygan 189.00 5.40 165.00 4.71 145.00 4.14 145.00 4.14 150.00 4.29 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 2.89 2.89 2.79 2.14 1.93 1.93 1.86 Taylor 132.00 3.77 132.00 3.77 132.00 3.77 132.00 3.77 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.36 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 Trempealeau 132.00 3.77 121.00 3.46 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57 Vernon 139.00 3.97 118.00 3.37 116.00 3.31 116.00 3.31 123.00 3.51 111.00 3.17 111.00 3.17 111.00 3.17 2.64 2.38 2.38 2.38 1.76 1.59 1.59 1.59 Vilas 180.00 5.14 132.00 3.77 119.00 3.40 119.00 3.40 125.00 3.57 112.00 3.20 111.00 3.17 111.00 3.17 2.68 2.40 2.38 2.38 1.79 1.60 1.59 1.59 Walworth 176.00 5.03 154.00 4.40 139.00 3.97 138.00 3.94 150.00 4.29 140.00 4.00 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 3.00 2.89 2.79 2.14 2.00 1.93 1.86 Washburn 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 110.00 3.14 125.00 3.57 113.00 3.23 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.42 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.61 1.57 1.57 Washington 201.00 5.74 165.00 4.71 160.00 4.57 145.00 4.14 150.00 4.29 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 130.00 3.71 3.21 2.89 2.89 2.79 2.14 1.93 1.93 1.86 Waukesha 234.00 6.69 205.00 5.86 185.00 5.29 179.00 5.11 202.00 5.77 175.00 5.00 165.00 4.71 155.00 4.43 4.33 3.75 3.54 3.32 2.89 2.50 2.36 2.21 Waupaca 151.00 4.31 148.00 4.23 132.00 3.77 132.00 3.77 121.00 3.46 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.59 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.73 1.57 1.57 1.57 Waushara 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 112.00 3.20 112.00 3.20 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.40 2.40 2.36 1.79 1.60 1.60 1.57 Winnebago 226.00 6.46 184.00 5.26 170.00 4.86 160.00 4.57 165.00 4.71 149.00 4.26 143.00 4.09 143.00 4.09 3.54 3.19 3.06 3.06 2.36 2.13 2.04 2.04
ATTACHMENT 1 (continued)
Maximum Child Care Reimbursement Rates, Effective November 9, 2014
Licensed Group Licensed Family Regularly Certified Provisionally Certified 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+ 0 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 5 6+
Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Weekly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly
Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Ceiling Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate Rate
Wood $154.00 $4.40 $147.00 $4.20 $147.00 $4.20 $147.00 $4.20 $138.00 $3.94 $130.00 $3.71 $127.00 $3.63 $127.00 $3.63 $2.96 $2.79 $2.72 $2.72 $1.97 $1.86 $1.81 $1.81 Menominee 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 113.00 3.23 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.42 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.61 1.57 1.57 Tribes* Red Cliff $138.00 $3.94 $125.00 $3.57 $120.00 $3.43 $116.00 $3.31 $125.00 $3.57 $110.00 $3.14 $110.00 $3.14 $110.00 $3.14 $2.68 $2.36 $2.36 $2.36 $1.79 $1.57 $1.57 $1.57 Stockbridge- Munsee 138.00 3.94 125.00 3.57 120.00 3.43 115.00 3.29 125.00 3.57 111.00 3.17 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.38 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.59 1.57 1.57 Potawatomi 246.00 7.03 220.00 6.29 191.00 5.46 179.00 5.11 190.00 5.43 177.00 5.06 165.00 4.71 155.00 4.43 4.07 3.79 3.54 3.32 2.71 2.53 2.36 2.21 Lac du Flambeau 180.00 5.14 132.00 3.77 119.00 3.40 119.00 3.40 125.00 3.57 112.00 3.20 111.00 3.17 111.00 3.17 2.68 2.40 2.38 2.38 1.79 1.60 1.59 1.59 Bad River 146.00 4.17 145.00 4.14 132.00 3.77 130.00 3.71 131.00 3.74 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.81 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.87 1.57 1.57 1.57 Sokaogon 158.00 4.51 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 113.00 3.23 158.00 4.51 135.00 3.86 135.00 3.86 113.00 3.23 3.39 2.89 2.89 2.42 2.26 1.93 1.93 1.61 Oneida Tribal Council 207.00 5.91 170.00 4.86 149.00 4.26 148.00 4.23 143.00 4.09 132.00 3.77 127.00 3.63 123.00 3.51 3.06 2.83 2.72 2.64 2.04 1.89 1.81 1.76 Lac Courtes Oreilles 127.00 3.63 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 125.00 3.57 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 110.00 3.14 2.68 2.36 2.36 2.36 1.79 1.57 1.57 1.57
*Ho-Chunk and St. Croix do not participate in a child care subsidy programs under Wisconsin Shares.
Source: Department of Children and Families
58
ATTACHMENT 2
2015 Market Survey of Licensed Group Child Care Providers
00 - < 01 Years 02 - < 03 Years 04 - < 05 Years 06+ Years
Average Average Average Average
Max Price Max Price Max Price Max Price
Counties Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot
Adams $113.00 $200.00 $110.00 $200.00 $110.00 $150.00 $105.00 $150.00
Ashland 146.00 154.50 145.00 154.50 132.00 141.75 130.00 136.50
Barron 121.00 141.29 110.00 133.97 110.00 129.12 110.00 116.44
Bayfield 138.00 138.00 125.00 125.00 120.00 125.00 116.00 125.00
Brown 207.00 235.59 170.00 200.71 149.00 179.65 148.00 173.81
Buffalo 138.00 N.A. 110.00 85.00 110.00 85.00 110.00 85.00
Burnett 138.00 N.A. 126.00 N.A. 126.00 N.A. 126.00 N.A.
Calumet 182.00 203.49 165.00 187.65 153.00 171.73 144.00 180.01
Chippewa 162.00 199.18 153.00 190.04 149.00 180.10 135.00 164.82
Clark 121.00 149.36 117.00 141.17 117.00 135.59 117.00 132.33
Columbia 169.00 201.32 156.00 179.31 140.00 154.44 130.00 147.26
Crawford 172.00 243.45 160.00 225.90 139.00 195.75 127.00 160.30
Dane 250.00 302.55 221.00 256.97 193.00 234.57 181.00 209.30
Dodge 165.00 205.80 165.00 183.00 143.00 161.11 143.00 158.19
Door 162.00 195.49 152.00 176.17 144.00 162.18 140.00 157.73
Douglas 165.00 171.29 157.00 162.41 141.00 150.85 132.00 139.81
Dunn 148.00 193.21 145.00 181.62 138.00 171.33 123.00 157.26
Eau Claire 184.00 205.71 172.00 187.87 158.00 171.10 149.00 161.14
Florence 153.00 N.A. 153.00 N.A. 135.00 N.A. 126.00 N.A.
Fond du Lac 171.00 201.44 153.00 180.10 138.00 160.68 137.00 144.79
Forest 158.00 N.A. 135.00 N.A. 135.00 N.A. 113.00 N.A.
Grant 151.00 147.52 151.00 144.48 151.00 144.48 151.00 144.48
Green 171.00 218.80 151.00 192.80 151.00 174.00 151.00 160.98
Green Lake 161.00 N.A. 145.00 N.A. 139.00 N.A. 139.00 N.A.
Iowa 152.00 182.33 140.00 159.54 120.00 159.54 115.00 159.54
Iron 135.00 N.A. 125.00 N.A. 124.00 N.A. 124.00 N.A.
Jackson 154.00 171.73 117.00 140.68 117.00 133.52 117.00 133.52
Jefferson 182.00 199.10 154.00 174.48 137.00 161.83 137.00 145.99
Juneau 161.00 186.25 161.00 177.00 161.00 162.40 161.00 162.40
Kenosha 222.00 227.78 200.00 209.03 176.00 192.18 171.00 188.01
Kewaunee 138.00 179.64 125.00 160.91 120.00 151.40 115.00 147.32
La Crosse 171.00 191.75 143.00 167.23 143.00 158.42 141.00 158.12
Lafayette 151.00 N.A. 151.00 N.A. 151.00 N.A. 151.00 N.A.
Langlade 162.00 186.25 145.00 147.50 140.00 147.50 130.00 N.A.
Lincoln 150.00 155.74 125.00 134.94 120.00 122.59 120.00 111.30
Manitowoc 165.00 190.80 149.00 173.23 149.00 171.41 145.00 160.47
Marathon 189.00 222.64 165.00 189.50 153.00 174.06 149.00 160.64
Marinette 138.00 145.41 121.00 136.44 121.00 123.81 121.00 119.36
Marquette 152.00 N.A. 145.00 N.A. 145.00 N.A. 145.00 100.00
Menominee 138.00 144.00 125.00 119.00 120.00 119.00 115.00 99.00
59
ATTACHMENT 2 (continued)
2015 Market Survey of Licensed Group Child Care Providers
00 - < 01 Years 02 - < 03 Years 04 - < 05 Years 06+ Years
Average Average Average Average
Max Price Max Price Max Price Max Price
Counties Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot
Milwaukee $246.00 $297.90 $220.00 $265.33 $191.00 $226.10 $179.00 $189.87
Monroe 146.00 174.57 132.00 154.21 120.00 146.13 116.00 138.99
Oconto 148.00 172.84 125.00 147.94 120.00 139.39 115.00 137.06
Oneida 162.00 165.61 138.00 143.72 121.00 135.37 121.00 120.34
Outagamie 190.00 228.61 174.00 206.95 157.00 188.19 155.00 182.30
Ozaukee 218.00 269.43 205.00 253.00 181.00 221.20 161.00 186.82
Pepin 138.00 145.00 120.00 135.00 120.00 125.00 115.00 120.00
Pierce 170.00 184.68 160.00 171.13 140.00 154.26 130.00 142.05
Polk 138.00 164.30 125.00 157.21 120.00 148.90 115.00 147.41
Portage 189.00 201.86 165.00 189.98 153.00 179.47 145.00 165.42
Price 144.00 165.49 125.00 143.94 110.00 136.59 110.00 142.31
Racine 215.00 234.23 187.00 209.96 170.00 186.08 163.00 170.57
Richland 161.00 N.A. 151.00 N.A. 151.00 N.A. 151.00 N.A.
Rock 193.00 219.83 173.00 187.07 171.00 170.95 154.00 162.97
Rusk 132.00 150.00 116.00 132.05 116.00 132.05 110.00 N.A.
St. Croix 176.00 184.28 144.00 174.88 143.00 160.56 130.00 149.10
Sauk 127.00 145.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 125.00
Sawyer 138.00 156.90 125.00 143.75 120.00 138.22 115.00 140.13
Shawano 189.00 221.49 165.00 189.95 145.00 169.29 145.00 165.45
Sheboygan 181.00 200.40 169.00 180.02 156.00 169.73 141.00 144.65
Taylor 132.00 190.00 132.00 190.00 132.00 190.00 132.00 190.00
Trempealeau 132.00 143.07 121.00 134.60 120.00 134.60 115.00 131.32
Vernon 139.00 174.31 118.00 157.64 116.00 152.22 116.00 152.22
Vilas 180.00 202.75 132.00 141.72 119.00 126.18 119.00 130.61
Walworth 176.00 202.74 154.00 176.15 139.00 149.54 138.00 148.50
Washburn 138.00 140.00 125.00 N.A. 120.00 N.A. 110.00 N.A.
Washington 201.00 216.17 165.00 199.01 160.00 178.66 145.00 162.54
Waukesha 234.00 272.61 205.00 239.00 185.00 214.05 179.00 192.51
Waupaca 151.00 156.16 148.00 146.16 132.00 132.92 132.00 131.68
Waushara 138.00 149.68 125.00 146.49 120.00 139.68 115.00 125.00
Winnebago 226.00 234.89 184.00 211.70 170.00 193.86 160.00 179.92
Wood 154.00 167.72 147.00 159.17 147.00 153.13 147.00 146.05
*N.A.: Data not available from market survey.
60
ATTACHMENT 3
2015 Market Survey of Licensed Family Child Care Providers
00 - < 01 Years 02 - < 03 Years 04 - < 05 Years 06+ Years
Average Average Average Average
Max Price Max Price Max Price Max Price
Counties Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot
Adams $123.00 $150.00 $119.00 $117.50 $119.00 $117.50 $105.00 $125.00
Ashland 131.00 135.00 110.00 124.44 110.00 124.44 110.00 124.29
Barron 115.00 125.91 110.00 127.09 110.00 127.09 110.00 125.43
Bayfield 125.00 150.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 125.00
Brown 143.00 160.38 132.00 145.44 127.00 141.65 123.00 132.03
Buffalo 124.00 136.88 110.00 113.12 110.00 113.12 110.00 113.12
Burnett 132.00 140.00 119.00 140.00 115.00 130.00 115.00 N.A.
Calumet 156.00 156.00 144.00 146.00 144.00 142.00 130.00 135.00
Chippewa 131.00 133.33 125.00 127.22 120.00 126.67 120.00 126.88
Clark 112.00 123.33 110.00 117.50 110.00 115.83 110.00 113.75
Columbia 131.00 139.00 125.00 132.00 120.00 131.00 120.00 131.00
Crawford 131.00 133.48 115.00 123.91 115.00 123.91 115.00 122.00
Dane 205.00 225.94 193.00 214.36 185.00 207.94 164.00 198.25
Dodge 135.00 136.00 125.00 133.00 122.00 131.00 122.00 126.25
Door 131.00 N.A. 125.00 N.A. 123.00 N.A. 123.00 N.A.
Douglas 150.00 160.00 135.00 150.00 135.00 150.00 130.00 150.00
Dunn 131.00 142.75 125.00 136.25 120.00 135.00 120.00 135.00
Eau Claire 165.00 148.72 149.00 143.08 149.00 142.05 149.00 132.17
Florence 153.00 N.A. 153.00 N.A. 117.00 N.A. 117.00 N.A.
Fond du Lac 138.00 145.71 127.00 137.14 127.00 137.14 127.00 137.14
Forest 158.00 155.00 135.00 130.00 135.00 130.00 113.00 130.00
Grant 121.00 128.33 110.00 124.58 110.00 122.08 110.00 110.00
Green 131.00 145.26 125.00 142.84 120.00 141.05 120.00 140.60
Green Lake 131.00 161.00 125.00 150.00 120.00 140.00 120.00 130.00
Iowa 125.00 160.00 115.00 153.75 115.00 146.25 115.00 146.25
Iron 135.00 N.A. 125.00 N.A. 120.00 N.A. 120.00 N.A.
Jackson 123.00 142.08 110.00 125.21 107.00 125.21 99.00 110.71
Jefferson 164.00 181.67 135.00 155.83 135.00 153.33 130.00 125.00
Juneau 124.00 125.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 100.00 110.00 100.00
Kenosha 190.00 191.43 175.00 176.43 165.00 163.21 155.00 155.50
Kewaunee 119.00 135.00 113.00 132.50 113.00 132.50 113.00 118.33
La Crosse 143.00 157.31 132.00 145.08 127.00 141.78 116.00 139.96
Lafayette 125.00 125.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 125.00 110.00 125.00
Langlade 131.00 112.50 125.00 112.50 120.00 112.50 120.00 125.00
Lincoln 135.00 147.86 125.00 132.86 120.00 127.86 120.00 125.00
Manitowoc 149.00 169.50 135.00 162.50 135.00 160.00 130.00 160.00
Marathon 150.00 151.41 135.00 142.32 135.00 135.25 130.00 129.47
Marinette 131.00 140.00 116.00 135.00 116.00 125.00 116.00 N.A.
Marquette 125.00 156.00 122.00 156.00 122.00 145.00 122.00 140.00
Menominee 125.00 N.A. 113.00 N.A. 110.00 N.A. 110.00 N.A.
61
ATTACHMENT 3 (continued)
2015 Market Survey of Licensed Family Child Care Providers
00 - < 01 Years 02 - < 03 Years 04 - < 05 Years 06+ Years
Average Average Average Average
Max Price Max Price Max Price Max Price
Counties Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot Rate per Slot
Milwaukee $190.00 $220.75 $177.00 $200.86 $165.00 $182.66 $155.00 $173.38
Monroe 131.00 129.57 116.00 119.79 116.00 118.71 110.00 118.00
Oconto 125.00 140.00 111.00 135.00 110.00 130.00 110.00 130.00
Oneida 135.00 146.67 116.00 120.00 116.00 120.00 116.00 120.00
Outagamie 150.00 165.78 136.00 155.07 135.00 153.54 130.00 150.17
Ozaukee 160.00 N.A. 153.00 196.15 149.00 196.15 149.00 N.A.
Pepin 132.00 145.51 123.00 130.21 123.00 122.71 110.00 122.71
Pierce 131.00 144.13 125.00 135.18 120.00 128.87 120.00 122.25
Polk 125.00 123.00 110.00 122.17 110.00 122.17 110.00 122.60
Portage 150.00 164.50 136.00 160.50 136.00 156.00 136.00 163.33
Price 125.00 122.50 110.00 100.00 110.00 100.00 110.00 100.00
Racine 182.00 167.00 175.00 158.00 165.00 153.75 155.00 141.67
Richland 131.00 119.00 110.00 116.50 110.00 116.50 110.00 116.50
Rock 161.00 165.00 149.00 150.75 149.00 145.65 149.00 145.70
Rusk 124.00 130.00 110.00 130.00 110.00 130.00 110.00 130.00
St. Croix 150.00 157.88 136.00 146.36 135.00 146.02 130.00 144.74
Sauk 125.00 125.00 110.00 122.50 110.00 122.50 110.00 122.50
Sawyer 125.00 130.00 111.00 125.00 110.00 120.00 110.00 N.A.
Shawano 150.00 150.80 135.00 140.47 135.00 135.13 130.00 142.43
Sheboygan 140.00 155.00 126.00 150.20 122.00 147.60 122.00 139.09
Taylor 110.00 131.25 110.00 131.25 110.00 131.25 110.00 131.25
Trempealeau 125.00 133.75 110.00 122.50 110.00 118.75 110.00 116.25
Vernon 123.00 121.00 111.00 113.33 111.00 112.67 111.00 100.00
Vilas 125.00 142.50 112.00 122.50 111.00 122.50 111.00 120.00
Walworth 150.00 155.79 140.00 143.68 135.00 148.67 130.00 136.67
Washburn 125.00 128.33 113.00 116.67 110.00 116.67 110.00 122.50
Washington 150.00 173.75 135.00 161.25 135.00 138.75 130.00 141.67
Waukesha 202.00 214.29 175.00 181.54 165.00 178.15 155.00 170.00
Waupaca 121.00 112.50 110.00 107.50 110.00 107.50 110.00 107.50
Waushara 125.00 135.50 112.00 132.17 112.00 132.17 110.00 112.17
Winnebago 165.00 170.71 149.00 156.43 143.00 151.59 143.00 146.50
Wood 138.00 138.75 130.00 133.00 127.00 130.00 127.00 121.67
*N.A.: Data not available from market survey.
ATTACHMENT 4
Child Care Copayment Schedule, Effective March 6, 2016*
Weekly Copay Requirement Gross Monthly Income by Family Size Children in Subsidized Care FPL 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ 1 2 3 4 5+ 70% $929 $1,172 $1,415 $1,657 $1,900 $2,143 $2,385 $2,628 $2,871 $6 $11 $17 $21 $28 75% 996 1,256 1,516 1,776 2,036 2,296 2,556 2,816 3,076 6 14 20 26 32 80% 1,062 1,339 1,617 1,894 2,171 2,449 2,726 3,003 3,281 9 15 22 29 35 85% 1,128 1,423 1,718 2,012 2,307 2,602 2,896 3,191 3,486 14 20 26 32 42 90% 1,195 1,507 1,819 2,131 2,443 2,755 3,067 3,379 3,691 15 25 31 40 48 95% 1,261 1,590 1,920 2,249 2,531 2,908 3,237 3,566 3,896 20 29 38 48 54 100% 1,328 1,674 2,021 2,368 2,714 3,061 3,408 3,754 4,101 22 32 41 52 61 105% 1,394 1,758 2,122 2,486 2,850 3,214 3,578 3,942 4,218 26 35 46 55 65 110% 1,460 1,842 2,223 2,604 2,986 3,367 3,748 4,130 4,511 29 39 48 58 68 115% 1,527 1,925 2,324 2,723 3,121 3,520 3,919 4,317 4,716 32 41 52 62 71 120% 1,593 2,009 2,425 2,841 3,257 3,673 4,089 4,505 4,921 35 46 55 64 75 125% 1,659 2,093 2,526 2,959 3,393 3,826 4,259 4,693 5,126 39 49 58 69 80 130% 1,726 2,176 2,627 3,078 3,528 3,979 4,430 4,880 5,331 41 53 65 76 88 135% 1,792 2,260 2,728 3,196 3,664 4,132 4,600 5,068 5,424 45 58 70 83 96 140% 1,859 2,344 2,829 3,315 3,800 4,285 4,771 5,256 5,741 47 61 75 87 102 145% 1,925 2,428 2,930 3,433 3,936 4,438 4,941 5,444 5,946 51 64 76 90 104 150% 1,991 2,511 3,031 3,551 4,071 4,591 5,011 5,631 6,151 55 67 81 93 108 155% 2,058 2,595 3,132 3,605 4,207 4,744 5,282 5,819 6,356 57 70 84 95 111 160% 2,124 2,679 3,233 3,788 4,343 4,897 5,452 6,007 6,561 61 75 87 101 114 165% 2,190 2,762 3,334 3,838 4,478 5,050 5,622 6,194 6,766 62 76 90 101 117 170% 2,257 2,846 3,435 4,025 4,614 5,203 5,793 6,382 6,971 63 81 94 108 120 175% 2,323 2,930 3,536 4,143 4,750 5,356 5,963 6,570 7,176 65 83 96 111 123 180% 2,390 3,014 3,638 4,262 4,886 5,510 6,134 6,758 7,382 68 86 101 114 126 185% 2,456 3,097 3,739 4,380 5,021 5,663 6,181 6,945 7,587 70 88 104 116 130 190% 2,522 3,181 3,840 4,498 5,157 5,816 6,474 7,133 7,792 71 90 107 119 132 195% 2,589 3,265 3,941 4,617 5,293 5,969 6,645 7,321 7,997 74 93 110 123 137 200% 2,655 3,348 4,042 4,735 5,428 6,122 6,815 7,508 8,202 76 94 113 126 139
Look down the column of the appropriate family size until locating the gross monthly family income level or just less than the family income. Look to the right to find the co-pay. *Non-court ordered kinship care parents and teen parents who are not Learnfare participants are subject to the minimum copay, which is found by selecting the lowest income line (70% FPL) and then finding the copayment listed for the appropriate number of children. Parents who have left a W-2 employment position for unsubsidized work also qualify for the minimum copay for one month. Children who are authorized for 20 hours or less are subject to one-half of their share of the family copay listed above. Foster care and kinship care parents who have court-ordered placement of a child, as well as Learnfare participants, subsidized guardians, and interim caretakers are not subject to copay requirements. Source: Department of Children and Families
ATTACHMENT 5
Child Care Copayment Schedule for EBT Implementation*
Effective October 1, 2016
Use the family's monthly income and family size to determine the FPL percentage.
If the family's income is between two lines use the higher amount.
Gross Monthly Income by Family Size Monthly Copayment FPL 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ Base Per Child
70% $935 $1,176 $1,418 $1,659 $1,901 $2,143 $2,385 $2,628 $2,871 $0 $25 75% 1,001 1,260 1,519 1,778 2,036 2,296 2,556 2,816 3,076 3 27 80% 1,068 1,344 1,620 1,896 2,172 2,449 2,726 3,003 3,281 9 29 85% 1,135 1,428 1,721 2,015 2,308 2,602 2,896 3,191 3,486 25 31 90% 1,202 1,507 1,823 2,133 2,444 2,755 3,067 3,379 3,691 41 32 95% 1,268 1,596 1,924 2,252 2,531 2,908 3,237 3,566 3,896 58 34 100% 1,335 1,680 2,025 2,370 2,715 3,061 3,408 3,754 4,101 67 36 105% 1,402 1,764 2,126 2,489 2,851 3,214 3,578 3,942 4,218 81 38 110% 1,460 1,848 2,228 2,607 2,987 3,367 3,748 4,130 4,511 91 40 115% 1,535 1,932 2,329 2,726 3,122 3,520 3,919 4,317 4,716 98 41 120% 1,602 2,016 2,430 2,844 3,258 3,673 4,089 4,505 4,921 109 43 125% 1,669 2,100 2,531 2,963 3,394 3,826 4,259 4,693 5,126 120 45 130% 1,736 2,184 2,633 3,081 3,530 3,979 4,430 4,880 5,331 137 47 135% 1,802 2,268 2,734 3,200 3,665 4,132 4,600 5,068 5,424 160 49 140% 1,869 2,352 2,835 3,318 3,801 4,285 4,771 5,256 5,741 170 50 145% 1,936 2,436 2,936 3,437 3,937 4,438 4,941 5,444 5,946 176 52 150% 2,003 2,520 3,038 3,555 4,073 4,591 5,011 5,631 6,151 186 54 155% 2,069 2,604 3,139 3,605 4,208 4,744 5,282 5,819 6,356 192 56 160% 2,136 2,688 3,240 3,792 4,344 4,897 5,452 6,007 6,561 203 58 165% 2,203 2,772 3,341 3,838 4,480 5,050 5,622 6,194 6,766 209 59 170% 2,270 2,856 3,443 4,029 4,616 5,203 5,793 6,382 6,971 216 61 175% 2,336 2,940 3,544 4,148 4,751 5,356 5,963 6,570 7,176 222 63 180% 2,403 3,024 3,645 4,266 4,887 5,510 6,134 6,758 7,382 231 65 185% 2,470 3,108 3,746 4,385 5,023 5,663 6,181 6,945 7,587 237 67 190% 2,537 3,192 3,848 4,503 5,159 5,816 6,474 7,133 7,792 244 68 195% 2,603 3,276 3,949 4,622 5,294 5,969 6,645 7,321 7,997 250 70 200% 2,670 3,360 4,050 4,740 5,430 6,122 6,815 7,508 8,202 256 72
*Schedule is effective only for payments processed via the EBT system. **Non-court ordered kinship care parents and teen parents who are not Learnfare participants are subject to the minimum copay, which is found by selecting the lowest income line (70% FPL) and then finding the copayment listed for the appropriate number of children. Parents who have left a W-2 employment position for unsubsidized work also qualify for the minimum copay for one month. Children who are authorized for 20 hours or less are subject to one-half of their share of the family copay listed above. Foster care and kinship care parents who have court-ordered placement of a child, as well as Learnfare participants, subsidized guardians, and interim caretakers are not subject to copay requirements.
Source: Department of Children and Families
Each family has a base copayment and an additional per-child amount.
The base copayment amount is adjust-ed based on the monthly child care hours for the family.
From To Monthly Monthly % Hours Hours Copay 0 20 10 21 40 25 41 80 50 81 999 100
The per child copayment amount is further adjusted based on the monthly hours for the individual child.
From To Monthly Monthly % Hours Hours Copay 0 15 10 16 30 20 31 45 30 46 60 40 61 75 50 76 90 60 91 105 70 106 120 80 121 135 90 136 999 100
For example: A one-parent family at 100 percent FPL with two children in care for 45 hours per week would have a base copay of $67 and a total per-child copay of $72.
Base Copay: $67 45 Hours/Week x 2 Children > 81 Monthly Hours 100 % Copay = $67 Per Child Copay: $36 45 Hours/Week > 136 Monthly Hours 100 % Copay = $36 ( x 2 Children) Total Per Child Copay: $72
$67 + $72 = $139 Total Monthly Copay: $139
64
ATTACHMENT 6
W-2 Paid Placements by County
September, 2016
Caretaker
W-2 Full Prorated of At Risk
Agency Transition Job CSJ CSJ Newborn Pregnancy Total
Caretaker
W-2 Full Prorated of At Risk
Agency Transition Job CSJ CSJ Newborn Pregnancy Total
Adams 8 2 0 0 0 10
Ashland 2 5 3 0 0 10
Barron 4 7 3 3 0 17
Bayfield 1 1 1 1 0 4
Brown 44 80 11 26 2 163
Buffalo 0 1 0 1 0 2
Burnett 0 3 1 1 0 5
Calumet 6 7 2 3 0 18
Chippewa 4 5 0 1 0 10
Clark 0 1 1 0 0 2
Columbia 14 4 3 4 0 25
Crawford 2 5 1 0 0 8
Dane 80 107 23 33 1 244
Dodge 12 10 4 5 1 32
Door 7 4 0 5 0 16
Douglas 6 6 5 1 1 19
Dunn 10 20 5 2 1 38
Eau Claire 27 34 7 6 0 74
Florence 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fond du Lac 8 39 21 8 0 76
Forest 1 2 1 0 0 4
Grant 20 17 10 3 0 50
Green 13 4 0 1 0 18
Green Lake 8 8 2 4 0 22
Iowa 1 6 2 0 0 9
Iron 0 1 0 0 0 1
Jackson 2 4 0 0 0 6
Jefferson 24 9 6 0 0 39
Juneau 4 1 0 1 0 6
Kenosha 95 112 17 21 0 245
Kewaunee 3 2 0 0 0 5
La Crosse 22 20 6 12 1 61
Lafayette 1 0 0 0 0 1
Langlade 6 6 3 2 0 17
Lincoln 4 5 2 0 0 11
Manitowoc 4 15 4 2 0 25
Marathon 7 25 6 5 0 38
Marinette 4 7 3 1 0 14
Marquette 3 5 1 2 0 12
Menominee 0 2 0 0 0 3
Milwaukee 1,587 2,008 341 359 5 3,967
Monroe 4 10 0 6 0 15
Oconto 3 0 0 0 0 4
Oneida 9 7 3 2 0 22
Outagamie 29 39 1 7 1 71
Ozaukee 9 11 0 1 0 20
Pepin 2 1 0 0 0 7
Pierce 2 4 2 0 0 8
Polk 8 8 0 2 0 49
Portage 0 5 2 4 0 12
Price 5 2 0 2 0 12
Racine 56 128 33 34 2 220
Richland 3 11 0 0 0 16
Rock 100 65 17 17 2 190
Rusk 2 2 0 1 1 5
St. Croix 7 3 1 0 0 19
Sauk 17 7 1 5 2 27
Sawyer 0 3 0 1 0 6
Shawano 8 12 1 1 0 22
Sheboygan 18 34 4 7 0 60
Taylor 0 2 0 1 0 2
Trempealeau 4 3 1 0 0 8
Vernon 3 0 1 0 0 4
Vilas 2 1 1 1 0 4
Walworth 42 31 6 5 0 80
Washburn 0 2 2 0 0 25
Washington 11 14 2 3 0 27
Waukesha 41 23 12 5 0 88
Waupaca 12 10 3 0 0 25
Waushara 6 6 0 0 0 14
Winnebago 47 65 9 16 0 121
Wood 17 22 4 6 0 45
Total 2,511 3,131 601 640 20 6,903
65
ATTACHMENT 7
W-2 Participants by Age
Including Subsidized Employment and Case Management Cases
September, 2016
Age of Number of
W-2 Participant Participants
Under 20 392
20-24 2,844
25-29 3,254
30-34 2,244
35-39 1,659
40 and over 1,861
Total Participants 12,254
Source: Department of Children and Families
66
ATTACHMENT 8
Number of Children in W-2 Assistance Groups
September, 2016
Number of Number of Children Assistance Groups *
0** 134
1 5,806
2 3,376
3 1,808
4 or more 1,130
Total Groups 12,254
Average Number of Children 1.9
*Assistance groups may contain multiple participants
**At-risk pregnant women and case management only pregnant women
with no eligible children.
Source: Department of Children and Families
67
ATTACHMENT 9
Interaction Between W-2 and Other Programs
September, 2016
• Nearly all W-2 participants are also enrolled in medical assistance. The
percentage of W-2 participants that were also enrolled in medical assistance in
September, 2016, was 98%.
• W-2 participants automatically meet the financial eligibility requirements for the
FoodShare program. The percentage of W-2 participants that were also receiving
FoodShare in September, 2016, was 93%.
• The percentage of W-2 participants determined eligible for child care subsidies in
September, 2016, was 38%.
Source: Department of Children and Families
12,254 11,998 11,388
4,693
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
W-2 W-2, Medical Assistance W-2, Food Share W-2, Child Care
68
APPENDIX A
Nonfinancial Eligibility Requirements for
W-2 Employment Positions and Job Access Loans
1. The individual is a custodial parent who
has attained the age of 18.
2. The individual is a U.S. citizen or qualify-
ing alien who is: (a) lawfully admitted to the Unit-
ed States for permanent residence; (b) granted asy-
lum; (c) a refugee; (d) paroled into the U.S. for a
period of at least one year; (e) in the U.S. but
whose deportation is being withheld; (f) granted
conditional entry; (g) an Amerasian immigrant as
defined in section 584 of the Foreign Operations,
Export Financing and Related Programs Appro-
priations Act of 1988; (h) a Cuban and Haitian
entrant as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee
Education Assistance Act of 1980; (i) a battered
immigrant or an immigrant whose child or chil-
dren have been battered, who is no longer residing
with the batterer; (j) certified as a victim of traf-
ficking; (k) an American Indian born in Canada
who is at least 50% American Indian by blood; (l)
an American Indian born outside of the United
States who is a member of a federally-recognized
Indian tribe; (m) lawfully residing in the United
States and is either an armed forces veteran who
received an honorable discharge, on active duty,
or the spouse of a veteran or an individual on ac-
tive duty; or (n) lawfully residing in the United
States and authorized to work by the immigration
and naturalization service.
3. The individual has residence in Wisconsin.
4. Every parent in the individual's W-2
group fully cooperates in good faith with efforts to
establish paternity of the dependent child and ob-
tain support payments or any other payments or
property to which that parent and the dependent
child may have rights, unless it is determined that
the parent has good cause for not cooperating. An
individual in the W-2 group who fails three times
to cooperate may not be eligible until all members
of the W-2 group cooperate or for a period of six
months, whichever is later.
Good cause for not cooperating includes the
following: (a) cooperation is reasonably anticipat-
ed to result in physical or emotional harm to the
child for whom support is being sought, or to the
parent with whom the child is living; (b) cooperat-
ing with the child support agency would make it
more difficult to escape domestic abuse or unfairly
penalize the individual victimized or at risk of be-
ing victimized of domestic abuse; (c) the child for
whom support is sought was conceived as a result
of incest or sexual assault; (d) a petition for the
adoption of the child has been filed with the court,
and proceeding to establish paternity or secure
support would be detrimental to the child; or (e)
the parent is being assisted by a public or private
social services agency in deciding whether or not
to terminate parental rights and the discussions
have not lasted for more than three months.
5. The individual furnishes the W-2 agency
with any relevant information that the agency de-
termines is necessary, within seven working days
after receiving a request for the information. The
agency may extend the seven-day requirement if
the agency determines that compliance within
seven days would be unduly burdensome for an
individual. W-2 agencies must keep all infor-
mation regarding victims of domestic abuse strict-
ly confidential, except to the extent needed to ad-
minister W-2.
6. The individual has made a good faith ef-
fort, as determined by the W-2 agency on a case-
by-case basis, to obtain employment and has not
refused a bona fide job offer within the 180 days
immediately preceding the application.
69
7. The individual is not receiving federal or
state supplemental security income payments. If
the individual is a dependent child, the custodial
parent of the individual may not be receiving an
SSI caretaker supplement payment on behalf of
the individual. Under administrative rule, the indi-
vidual also may not be receiving federal social
security disability insurance payments.
8. On the last day of the month, the individ-
ual is not participating in a strike.
9. The individual applies for or provides a
social security number for all W-2 group mem-
bers.
10. The individual reports any change in cir-
cumstances that may affect his or her eligibility to
the W-2 agency within 10 days after the change. A
temporary absence of a child must be reported
within five working days.
11. If the individual has applied for W-2 with-
in the 180 days immediately preceding the current
application, the individual has cooperated with the
efforts of a W-2 agency to assist the individual in
obtaining employment.
12. No other individual in the W-2 group is a
participant in a W-2 employment position. This
provision does not apply to an individual applying
for a job access loan.
13. The individual is not a fugitive felon, or
violating a condition of probation, extended su-
pervision, or parole imposed under federal or state
law.
14. The individual assigns to the state any
right of the individual or of any dependent child of
the individual to support or maintenance from any
other person that accrues during the time that any
W-2 benefit is paid to the individual. No amount
of support that begins to accrue after the individu-
al ceases to receive benefits under W-2 may be
assigned to the state. Under Wisconsin law, all
support assigned to the state that does not have to
be provided to the federal government as the fed-
eral share of assigned support is passed through
to the family. Beginning October 1, 2010, the
amount passed through to the family (the state's
share) is 75% of the support amount.
15. The individual states in writing whether
the individual has been convicted in any state or
federal court of a felony relating to possession,
use, or distribution of a controlled substance.
16. The individual cooperates in providing
information needed to verify enrollment or good
cause for the Learnfare program.
17. The individual cooperates in the require-
ment to search for unsubsidized employment
throughout his or her participation in a W-2 em-
ployment position.
18. The individual cooperates in applying for
other public assistance programs or resources that
the financial and employment planner in the W-2
agency believes may be available to the individu-
al.
19. The individual cooperates with providing
eligibility information for other members of the
W-2 group.
20. The individual cooperates with providing
information for quality assurance reviews.
70
APPENDIX B
General Provisions Regarding the Use of Federal Funding under
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program
and the Child Care Development Block Grant
TANF Funding
Wisconsin's annual TANF block grant alloca-
tion from the federal government is currently
$318.2 million. Under federal law, a tribal organ-
ization in a state may elect to operate a separate
tribal public assistance program. For a tribe that
submits an acceptable plan, the federal govern-
ment will provide funding to the tribe and reduce
the state's TANF block grant by an equivalent
amount. After accounting for the nine separate
tribal programs (Bad River, Forest County Pota-
watomi, Red Cliff, Mole Lake Sokaogon, Lac du
Flambeau, Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican, Onei-
da, Menominee, and Lac Courte Oreilles), Wis-
consin's annual TANF grant is $313.9 million in
2016-17.
Congress reauthorized the TANF block grant
at the same funding level through September 30,
2010, by including the reauthorization provision
in the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
Since that time, the TANF program has been in-
crementally extended through April 28, 2017, by
the federal Claims Resolution Act of 2010, the
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of
2012, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of
2014, and a series of continuing resolutions.
In addition, state funding is provided for the
W-2 program under maintenance-of-effort re-
quirements. The MOE requirements are dis-
cussed in the following section.
General Requirements
There are three ways in which a state may use
TANF funds. First, a state may transfer up to
30% of the TANF block grant to the programs
funded by the federal child care block grant and
the social services block grant. Current federal
regulations limit the amount that can be trans-
ferred to the SSBG to 10% of TANF funds.
Second, a state may expend TANF funds for
any use that was allowable under the previous
AFDC, JOBS, emergency assistance, and child
care programs.
Third, a state may expend TANF funds in any
manner that is reasonably calculated to accom-
plish one of the purposes of the TANF program.
There are four purposes specified in federal law.
These are: (a) to provide assistance to "needy
families" so children may be cared for in their
homes or in the homes of relatives; (b) to end the
dependence of "needy parents" on government by
promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
(c) to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-
wedlock pregnancies; and (d) to encourage the
formation and maintenance of two-parent fami-
lies.
Programs that meet the first or second pur-
poses of TANF must serve "needy" families or
parents. Generally, "needy" means having in-
come and assets at or below the income or asset
levels set by the state in the TANF plan submit-
ted to the federal government. Therefore, the
state may establish the level at which a family or
parent is considered needy. However, the state
must be able to justify that the income limit cho-
sen is a low-income standard.
In Wisconsin, the income limits range from
71
115% of the federal poverty level for W-2 em-
ployment positions and up to a maximum of
300% of the federal poverty level for domestic
violence services by local domestic violence ser-
vice providers to assist victims of domestic vio-
lence.
Programs that meet the third and fourth pur-
poses of the TANF program can serve both needy
and non-needy families. Expenditures for non-
needy families under the third and fourth purpos-
es of TANF can only be funded with TANF and
not MOE, due to the definition of eligible fami-
lies for MOE funds discussed later in this appen-
dix.
Expenditures Classified as Assistance
The federal regulations make a distinction be-
tween an expenditure that provides "assistance"
and one that does not. Expenditures that are clas-
sified as "assistance" include cash, payments,
vouchers, and other forms of benefits designed to
meet a family's ongoing basic needs such as food,
clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, per-
sonal care items, and general incidental expenses.
These benefits also include supportive services
such as child care and transportation for families
that are not employed.
Expenditures that are not considered "assis-
tance" include: (a) nonrecurring short-term bene-
fits that are designed to deal with a specific crisis
situation or episode of need, are not intended to
meet recurrent or ongoing needs, and will not
extend beyond four months; (b) work subsidies;
(c) supportive services such as child care and
transportation for families that are employed; (d)
refundable earned income tax credits; (e) contri-
butions to and distributions from individual de-
velopment accounts; (f) services such as counsel-
ing, case management, peer support, child care
information and referral, transitional services, job
retention, job advancement, and other employ-
ment-related activities that do not provide basic
income support; and (g) certain transportation
benefits related to the job access and reverse
commute program.
If the expenditure is for "assistance," then
several requirements will apply as discussed be-
low:
Child Living with Relative. States may only
provide TANF assistance to pregnant women and
men or women who have dependent minor chil-
dren living in the home. States may define fami-
lies to include noncustodial parents, who may
then engage in work activities, counseling, edu-
cational activities, parenting classes, or money
management classes.
Paternity Establishment and Assignment of
Child Support. Federal law requires families re-
ceiving TANF assistance to cooperate in estab-
lishing paternity for each minor child. If the indi-
vidual fails to cooperate with establishing pater-
nity and enforcing a support order with respect to
a minor child, the state is required to reduce the
amount of assistance provided to the family by
25%. The state may also deny the family any as-
sistance. In addition, any right a family member
may have to support from any other person must
be assigned to the state. These requirements do
not apply if the family has good cause to not co-
operate or meets another exception defined by
the state.
Time Limit. An individual may receive TANF
assistance for a maximum of 60 months. States
have the option to extend assistance paid for by
federal TANF funds beyond the five-year limit
for up to 20% of the average monthly number of
families receiving assistance during the fiscal
year or the immediately preceding fiscal year.
States can extend assistance on the basis of: (a)
hardship as defined by the state; or (b) the fact
that the family includes someone who has been
battered or subject to extreme cruelty.
If the federal government determines that a
state has not complied with the time limit, there
72
will be a 5% grant reduction. The TANF regula-
tions indicate that this penalty may be avoided
only if: (a) the failure is due to extensions in
cases of domestic abuse; (b) the state had reason-
able cause due to natural disasters, incorrect fed-
eral guidance, or isolated problems of minimal
impact; or (c) the state achieves compliance un-
der a corrective compliance plan.
Work Participation Requirements. Federal
law requires that a work-eligible individual en-
gage in work once the state determines the indi-
vidual is ready, or after 24 months of receiving
TANF assistance, whichever is earlier. A work-
eligible individual is defined as an adult (or mi-
nor child head-of-household) who receives assis-
tance under TANF or a separate state program or
a non-recipient parent living with a child who
receives such assistance unless the parent is: (a)
a minor parent and not the head-of-household;
(b) a non-citizen who is ineligible to receive as-
sistance due to his or her immigration status; or
(c) on a case-by-case basis, an SSI recipient. A
work-eligible individual does not include a parent
providing care for a disabled family member, an
individual receiving MOE-funded assistance un-
der an approved tribal TANF program, or, on a
case-by-case basis, an SSDI recipient.
For purposes of this provision, the types of
required work activities are defined by the state.
If a parent or caretaker has received assistance
for two months, they must participate in commu-
nity service employment unless the recipient is
participating in work requirements or the state
has exempted the recipient from work require-
ments.
In addition, the state must meet certain mini-
mum work participation rates or incur financial
penalties. For purposes of the work participation
targets, federal law defines the types of activities
that may be counted. The state's work participa-
tion rates had been reduced based on caseload
reductions that have occurred since 1995. Under
the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, begin-
ning in FFY 2007, the state's work participation
rates may be reduced based on caseload reduc-
tions that have occurred since 2005. However,
states may not count caseload reductions that
have occurred due to changes in federal require-
ments or state eligibility requirements. Finally,
states are also allowed to receive caseload reduc-
tion credit for excess MOE spending (the excess
MOE caseload credit is calculated by dividing
total annual excess MOE spending on assistance
by the average monthly expenditures for assis-
tance per case for the fiscal year).
In an information memorandum dated July
12, 2012, the federal Administration for Children
and Families, within the federal Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS), indicated
that states may apply for a waiver of the work
participation requirements to encourage states to
consider new, more effective ways to meet the
goals of the TANF program. The information
memorandum indicated that the waiver applica-
tion should include approaches to increase em-
ployment outcomes. Subsequent communication
from the DHHS Secretary indicated that a waiver
would only be considered if the application con-
tained a plan to move at least 20% more people
from welfare to work than the current work par-
ticipation rates would require. Wisconsin did not
apply for a waiver.
Failure to comply with the minimum partici-
pation requirements may result in a penalty
which reduces the TANF grant by 5% to 21%,
depending on how many years the state fails to
meet the requirements and the degree of non-
compliance. Federal law states that grant reduc-
tions will be based on the degree of noncompli-
ance and penalties may be reduced if non-
compliance was due to a high rate of unemploy-
ment or extraordinary circumstances, such as a
natural disaster or regional recession.
Before any penalties are imposed, a state has
the opportunity to claim reasonable cause to
forgive the penalty. Further, a state may avoid the
73
penalty by achieving compliance under a
corrective compliance plan approved by DHHS.
In addition to penalties for failing to comply
with the minimum participation requirements,
failure to establish or comply with work partici-
pation verification procedures, established under
the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005,
could result in a grant reduction of 1% to 5%.
Failure to maintain adequate internal controls to
ensure a consistent measurement of work partici-
pation could also result in a grant reduction of
1% to 5%, depending on the number of years in
violation of this requirement.
Finally, recipients who refuse to work must be
penalized unless they have good cause as defined
by the state. The family's grant award must be
reduced at least by the pro-rata share of the
award for the time the family refused to comply
with work requirements. If a state does not
impose penalties on families, the TANF grant can
be reduced by 1% to 5%.
Table 15 shows the following information for
all families and two-parent families by federal
fiscal year: the original federal work participation
requirement; the credit Wisconsin received for
reduced caseloads; the adjusted target; and the
actual work participation rate. The percentage
credits for work participation rates in Table 14
from FFY 1998 through FFY 2006 are based on
caseload reductions that occurred since 1995.
Beginning with FFY 2007, the credits are based
on caseload reductions that occurred since 2005.
As shown in Table 15, Wisconsin previously
received substantial reductions to WPR targets
from decreases in caseloads. Before FFY 2007,
caseload reduction credits were based on
caseload statistics from 1995. Wisconsin, like
most states, saw substantial decreases in
caseloads following the initial welfare reforms
associated with W-2 and TANF. As a result,
Table 15: Work Participation Rates
All Families Two-Parent Families Federal Adjusted Federal Adjusted
FFY Target Credit** Target Actual Target Credit** Target Actual
1998 30% -42% 0% 64% 75% -73% 2% 39%
1999 35 -70 0 80 90 -70 20 56
2000 40 -50 0 73 90 -50 40 35
2001 45 -56 0 75 90 -56 34 39
2002 50 -54 0 69 90 -54 36 39
2003 50 -52 0 67 90 -69 21 40
2004 50 -50 0 61 90 -69 21 33
2005 50 -49 1 44 90 -69 21 26
2006 50 -53 0 36 90 -78 12 17
2007* 50 -19 31 37 90 -100 0 21
2008* 50 -54 0 37 90 -100 0 32
2009* 50 -24 26 40 90 -68 22 33
2010* 50 -24 26 43 90 -73 17 31
2011* 50 -50 0 38 90 -90 0 22
2012* 50 0 50 32 90 0 90 17
2013* 50 0 50 34 90 0 90 26
2014* 50 0 50 36 90 0 90 32
2015* 50 0 50 38 90 0 90 39
*Use 2005 as base comparative year, rather than 1995.
**Beginning in 2007, the credit includes the sum of the caseload reduction credit and the excess MOE
adjustment.
74
Wisconsin could reliably earn credit adjustments
due to the much lower caseloads under the W-2
program. Beginning with FFY 2007, the DRA
changed federal law such that credit adjustments
would be based on 2005 caseloads and would
include families in separate state programs
funded with TANF MOE. As a result, earning
credit adjustments became more difficult.
DCF indicates that the causes of failing to
meet WPR targets include the following. First,
the recession in 2008 and subsequent recovery
period made it more difficult for W-2 agencies to
locate work experience sites to meet the demand
from increased caseloads. Second, DCF indicates
the change in contract structure and local
administration from counties to regional service
agencies with payment based-upon capitation and
performance directly resulted in a temporary
increase in caseloads. According to DCF, the
change in service delivery resulted in increased
caseloads by improving the efficiency and reach
of the W-2 program.
Third, Wisconsin has not received case
reduction credits since 2012, due to the changes
introduced by the DRA and the increases in
caseloads during the recession and recovery
period. MOE expenditures, though comparable to
previous years, have not been large enough to
compensate for the increase in caseloads in the
federal WPR case reduction credit formula.
Fourth, TANF regulations do not count
unsubsidized employment as a participating
activity unless the family receives a cash benefit,
whereas W-2 does not provide cash benefits to
such participants. As a result, participants who
have successfully transitioned to work under W-2
are not counted into the WPR. Finally, W-2
provides cash assistance to participants with
barriers to employment (such as transitional jobs
for those caring for a disabled family member),
whereas other states provide benefits to such
persons through separately funded state programs
(thereby avoiding TANF WPR regulations).
Since the activities assigned to such participants
only qualify towards the WPR for a limited
period of time, large numbers of participants are
counted as not being assigned any countable
work activities.
The federal Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) notified DCF via letter dated
May 28, 2015, that Wisconsin had failed to meet
the work participation targets for FFY 2012 and
therefore was subject to a potential fine of $11.8
million (5% of adjusted TANF block grant). Via
letter dated July 24, 2015, DCF agreed to enter
into a corrective compliance plan in order to
avoid the penalty and to come into compliance by
the end of FFY 2016. DCF requested to be
released from additional penalties for FFY 2014
and 2015 due to the lateness of the notification
from DHHS, thereby impeding the state's ability
to enact a timely corrective compliance plan.
DHHS notified DCF via letters dated January
11, 2016, and July 26, 2016, that Wisconsin had
failed to meet the work participation
requirements for FFY 2013 and FFY 2014 and
therefore is subject to potential penalties of $15.1
million and $19.8 million, respectively. DCF
indicates that it intends to appeal these penalties.
DCF will be subject to increasingly larger
penalties each year the state fails to meet federal
WPR targets.
Changes under the corrective compliance plan
include the following. First, pursuant to changes
made under 2015 Act 55, DCF has strengthened
program policies for sanctioning non-complying
participants with reduced benefits and case
closures for refusing to participate in assigned
work activities. This removes non-complying
individuals from the WPR calculation. Second,
DCF has issued best practice administrative
guidelines to W-2 agencies to better assign and
document a sufficient number of countable work
activities. Third, DCF added additional incentive
payments for W-2 agencies (which are
compensated on an outcome basis as opposed to
75
a cost basis). DCF has changed incentive
payments under the W-2 contracts to better
reward those agencies that meet the federal work
participation requirements. Finally, DCF will
revise TANF data reporting so that all parents
receiving social security disability income are
properly excluded from WPR calculations. This
would improve the state's WPR since such
persons are not assigned countable work
activities.
Despite these changes, DCF indicates that
Wisconsin likely did not meet the WPR
requirements for FFY 2016. DCF will continue to
monitor work participation and implement
changes within W-2 to improve performance.
Minor Parents. Assistance may be provided
to unmarried minor parents only if the minor par-
ent has a high school diploma or participates in
educational activities toward attaining a high
school diploma or its equivalent. In addition, no
assistance may be provided to unmarried minor
parents who are not living in an adult-supervised
living arrangement.
Data Reporting. States are required to report
detailed information regarding individuals and
families receiving TANF assistance. This infor-
mation includes demographic information and
detail on the type, amount, and length of assis-
tance received.
Fraud Cases. States are required to deny as-
sistance for a period of ten years to individuals
convicted in federal or state court of having made
a fraudulent statement or representation with re-
spect to the individual's place of residence in or-
der to receive TANF assistance, Medicaid, or
food stamps simultaneously in two or more
states.
Fugitive Felons and Drug Felons. States are
required to deny assistance to fugitive felons and
persons violating a condition of parole under
state or federal law. In addition, individuals con-
victed of a felony involving possession, use, or
distribution of a controlled substance after Au-
gust, 1996, are barred from receiving assistance
from TANF or food stamps. However, the family
of the drug felon can receive a reduced amount
from these grants. States may opt out of the drug
felon prohibition or limit the prohibition to a cer-
tain time period.
Accessing Benefits. The federal Middle Class
Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 requires
states to establish policies that prevent TANF
recipients from accessing benefits at automated
teller machines located in liquor stores, casinos,
or adult entertainment establishments.
Expenditures Classified as "Non-Assistance"
If the expenditure can be classified as "non-
assistance," the following TANF requirements do
not need to apply: presence of a child living with
a relative; assignment of child support and coop-
eration with paternity establishment; time limit
on assistance; work requirements and sanctions;
requirements on minor parents; data reporting
requirements; and exclusions for fraud cases, fu-
gitive felons, and drug felons. Financial eligibil-
ity levels for non-assistance can be higher or
lower than for cash assistance. The different re-
quirements for "assistance" versus "non-
assistance" are shown in Table 16.
Other Restrictions
Whether for "assistance" or "non-assistance,"
federal law contains other restrictions regarding
the use of TANF funds.
Medical Services. Federal law prohibits
TANF funds from being used for medical ser-
vices, except pre-pregnancy family planning ser-
vices. States may use TANF funds for non-
medical substance abuse treatment services, in-
cluding room and board costs at residential
treatment programs.
Table 16: Overview of TANF Provisions Under Different Funding Configurations Provision
Federally Funded TANF "Assistance" Programs & "Assistance" Programs
Funded with Commingled TANF and MOE Funds
Federally Funded TANF "Non-Assistance" Programs & "Non-
Assistance" Programs Funded with Commingled TANF and MOE Funds
TANF Programs Funded with Segregated State MOE Funds
Separate State MOE Programs
State required to set income standards
If TANF only, income standard only required for 1
st and 2
nd purposes of
TANF. If comingled, income standard required for all TANF purposes.
If TANF only, income standard only required for 1
st and 2
nd purposes of
TANF. If comingled, income standard required for all TANF purposes.
Yes Yes
Allowable expenditures (1) Expenditures meeting the TANF purposes; or (2) expenditures authorized under old AFDC, JOBS, emergency assistance, and child care programs
(1) Expenditures meeting the TANF purposes; or (2) expenditures authorized under old AFDC, JOBS, emergency assistance, and child care programs
Must be for purposes of TANF and for cash assistance, child care, certain education, administrative costs or other activities related to TANF purposes
Same as prior column
Child living with relative requirement
Yes No Yes Yes
Child support assignment and paternity cooperation requirements
Yes No Yes No
Time limit on assistance
Yes No No No
Work requirements
Yes No Yes Yes, if MOE is for "assistance"
Work sanctions
Yes No Yes No
Minor parent requirements
Yes No No No
Data reporting requirements
Yes No Yes Yes, if states want caseload reduction credit
Fraud case exclusion
Yes No No No
Fugitive felons exclusion
Yes No No No
Drug felons reduced benefits
Yes No Yes No
Medical services
Only pre-pregnancy family planning Only pre-pregnancy family planning No specific restriction No specific restriction
Non-displacement
Yes Yes No No
15% administrative cap Yes Yes Yes Yes
77
Legal Immigrants. Federal law contains cer-
tain restrictions on using federal TANF funds to
provide assistance to families that include a qual-
ified legal immigrant, depending upon the indi-
vidual's immigration status and when the person
entered the United States.
States have the option to provide TANF assis-
tance to all qualified legal immigrants who en-
tered the U.S. prior to August 22, 1996. Qualified
legal immigrants are defined as lawful permanent
residents, refugees, asylees, those granted parole
for more than one year, those whose deportation
has been withheld, those considered conditional
entrants before 1980, Cuban and Haitian entrants,
and certain victims of domestic violence.
Qualified legal immigrants who enter the U.S.
after August 22, 1996, are not eligible for assis-
tance funded with federal TANF dollars until five
years after the date they enter. After this time, the
state has the option to provide assistance to these
families.
However, the following qualified aliens are
exempt from this five-year ban: refugees,
asylees, immigrants who have been granted with-
holding of deportation, Amerasian immigrants,
Cuban-Haitian refugees, veterans, active duty
military personnel, and spouses and dependents
of veterans or active duty military personnel.
Immigrants who are not qualified generally
include unauthorized immigrants, immigrants
who are categorized as persons residing under the
color of law (PRUCOL aliens), students, tourists,
and asylum applicants. These nonqualified immi-
grants are ineligible for TANF funded assistance.
Non-Displacement. TANF funds may not be
used to fill a job vacancy when another individu-
al has been laid off from the same or any substan-
tially equivalent job. In addition, an employer
cannot terminate a regular employee in order to
fill the vacancy with a TANF-funded position.
Administration. Administrative costs may not
exceed 15% of all TANF expenditures. Expendi-
tures of federal funds for information technology
and computerization needed for tracking or moni-
toring activities are not subject to the 15% limit.
Penalties. Federal law includes several penal-
ties that may be imposed against the state for fail-
ing to meet various requirements of the TANF
program. Penalties are generally taken as a per-
centage of the state's TANF block grant. If the
TANF block grant is reduced, the state must ex-
pend its own funds in the following fiscal year to
replace the reduction in the grant. If the state fails
to expend its own funds, an additional 2% of the
block grant plus the amount the state has failed to
expend of its own funds may be reduced from the
state's block grant. The total reduction in the
state's grant may not exceed 25%. If the reduction
exceeds 25%, the federal government will con-
tinue to apply a penalty in subsequent years until
the full amount of the penalty is taken.
States can avoid some penalties by demon-
strating reasonable cause or by obtaining approv-
al of a corrective compliance plan which identi-
fies time periods and milestones to correct the
problem. Reasonable cause can only be due to
natural disasters, incorrect federal guidance, or
isolated problems of minimal impact. If a state
fails to meet the provisions of its corrective com-
pliance plan but made significant progress or
could not correct the problem because of a natu-
ral disaster or recession, the federal government
may impose a lower penalty.
Child-Only Cases
In some cases, only the child receives assis-
tance. In Wisconsin, this is the case for the kin-
ship care program and the SSI caretaker supple-
ment. Under the federal Deficit Reduction Act of
2005, a non-recipient parent living with a child
receiving assistance is a work-eligible individual
subject to work participation requirements, unless
the parent is: (a) a minor parent who is not a
78
head-of-household; (b) an alien who is ineligible
to receive assistance due to his or her immigra-
tion status; or (c) an SSI or SSDI recipient, on a
case-by-case basis. Formerly, work participation
requirements did not apply to child-only cases
because the parent did not receive assistance.
Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) Requirements
Under federal law, a state must spend an
amount of state dollars equal to 75% of historic
state expenditures if the state meets federal man-
datory work requirements, or 80% if the state
does not meet these requirements. Historic state
expenditures generally means federal fiscal year
1994 expenditures for the former AFDC and
JOBS programs, AFDC-emergency assistance,
AFDC-related child care, and at-risk child care.
In addition, the MOE requirement may be re-
duced by the percentage reduction in the state's
TANF block grant attributable to tribal programs.
After adjusting for tribal TANF, the state's
basic annual MOE requirement is $178.4 million
based on 80% of historic state expenditures. The
major provisions regarding expenditures of state
dollars that could count toward the MOE re-
quirement are described in the following sections.
Unless expenditures are for non-assistance
pro-family activities, in order to count toward the
maintenance-of-effort requirement, expenditures
must be made for "eligible families." Eligible
families must meet the income and resource re-
quirements for needy families under the TANF
program. In addition, an eligible family must
have a minor child living with a parent or include
a pregnant individual.
Expenditures for eligible families that may
count toward the MOE include: (a) cash assis-
tance; (b) child care assistance; (c) educational
activities to increase self-sufficiency, job train-
ing, and work; (d) any other use of funds that
would accomplish the purposes of the TANF
program, described in the previous section (in-
cluding nonmedical treatment services for alco-
hol and drug abuse, some medical treatment ser-
vices, and pro-family activities that do not consti-
tute assistance); and (e) up to 15% can be used
for administrative costs. MOE funds can be used
for activities that are classified as "assistance" as
well as "non-assistance." Expenditures for educa-
tional activities may not include public education
expenditures, unless the expenditure is for ser-
vices to a member of an eligible family to in-
crease self-sufficiency, job training, and work
and is not generally available to persons who are
not members of eligible families. Expenditures
for child care can include state funds to meet the
requirements of the matching fund for the child
care development block grant.
Expenditures in state- or local-funded pro-
grams can count towards the MOE requirement
only if: (a) the expenditures exceed the amount
expended for the same program in FFY 1995; or
(b) the expenditures would have been previously
authorized and allowable under the former
AFDC, JOBS, or emergency assistance pro-
grams. State funds used to meet the healthy mar-
riage promotion and responsible fatherhood grant
match requirement may also count to meet the
MOE requirement provided the expenditure also
meets all the other MOE requirements.
Unlike TANF expenditures, MOE funds can
be used for services to all lawfully present immi-
grants, medical services, and persons who have
reached the time limit for assistance.
Expenditures for eligible families that count
toward MOE may not include expenditures of
any federal dollars, state expenditures under the
Medicaid program, any state funds used to match
federal funds or spent as a condition of receiving
federal funds, expenditures that a state made in a
prior fiscal year, expenditures used to match fed-
eral welfare-to-work funds, and expenditures
made to replace reductions resulting from penal-
79
ties. However, matching expenditures for the
healthy marriage promotion and responsible fa-
therhood grant may be counted as MOE.
Under federal law, the state's basic TANF
grant will be reduced by the amount, if any, by
which qualified state expenditures in the previous
year are less than the MOE requirement.
States may spend their MOE funds in three
different funding configurations: commingled
with TANF funds; segregated from TANF funds
but spent on services that are funded with TANF
funds; and through a separate state program. De-
pending on how the funds are spent, varying fed-
eral requirements will apply. These requirements
are summarized in Table 16.
(a) Commingled with TANF. State MOE funds
may be commingled with TANF revenues. These
funds are subject to federal funding restrictions,
TANF requirements, and MOE limitations. If the
expenditure qualifies as "assistance," all of the
"assistance" requirements apply.
(b) Segregated from Federal Funds but Spent
in TANF. If a state chooses to segregate its MOE
expenditures from federal funds but spend them
on services that are also funded with TANF
funds, many of the TANF requirements will ap-
ply, including the work participation require-
ments, child support assignment, and reporting.
However, time limits and some federal require-
ments do not apply such as restrictions for minor
parents.
(c) Separate State Programs. A state can
choose to use a separate state program operated
outside of the TANF program. These expendi-
tures are very flexible and are not subject to the
general TANF requirements such as work sanc-
tions, time limits, and child support assignment,
even if the expenditures would be normally clas-
sified as "assistance." However, they must be
consistent with the goals of the TANF statute and
other MOE requirements. They are also subject
to the 15% administrative cap for MOE and case-
record reporting requirements.
DCF reported MOE in the amount of $267.8
million to the federal government for FFY 2015,
which was mostly comprised of the following
sources: W-2 benefits, educational support ser-
vices to needy students, low income energy assis-
tance program, kinship care, local W-2 agencies
spending, and the SSI caretaker supplement.
Contingency Fund
The federal Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 changed
public assistance from an entitlement to a capped
block grant. A contingency fund was also estab-
lished to provide additional matching grants to
states during times of economic downturns if cer-
tain conditions are met.
Eligibility
In order to receive a payment of contingency
funds, a state must: (a) be a needy state; and (b)
submit a request for contingency funds during an
eligible month.
A state is defined as needy in two ways. First,
a state is needy if the average rate of total unem-
ployment for the most recent three-month period
equals or exceeds 6.5% and this average rate
equals or exceeds 110% of the average rate for
either of the corresponding three-month periods
in the two preceding calendar years. Second, a
state is needy if the Secretary of the federal De-
partment of Agriculture has determined that the
average number of individuals participating in
the FoodShare program has grown at least 10%
in the most recent three-month period over the
corresponding three-month period in 1994 or
1995 (whichever year had the lower caseload).
If a state is determined needy for a given
80
month, the state is then eligible to receive a pro-
visional payment of contingency funds for two
consecutive months.
Payments to States
Payments from the contingency fund are
made to states determined to be needy in the or-
der in which the requests for payments are made.
The total number of payments made cannot ex-
ceed the amount appropriated for this purpose.
The maximum amount of payments in a year
is 20% of the state's TANF block grant. A state
can only receive a portion of this 20% that corre-
sponds to the number of eligible months for
which the state has requested contingency funds.
For example, if a state has requested contingency
funds for three months of the fiscal year, the
maximum the state could receive in contingency
funds is 25% (three months is 25% of a year) of
the 20% of the state's TANF block grant (or 5%
of the TANF block grant).
States must spend contingency funds in the
fiscal year in which they are awarded. None of
the funds may be transferred to any other block
grant. The restrictions and prohibitions regarding
TANF funds also apply to contingency funds.
The appropriation for the TANF contingency
fund was eliminated under the federal Claims Re-
settlement Act of 2010. As a result, the state did
not apply for TANF contingency funds in FFY
2010. However, the Protect Our Kids Act of
2012, the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act of 2015, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2016, and a series of con-
tinuing resolutions retained the appropriation and
continued to provide funding for the contingency
fund. Therefore, the state applied for contingency
funds, and was determined to be a needy state, in
FFY 2009, and FFY 2011 through FFY 2015.
The state received $62.9 million in contingency
funds in FFY 2009, $15.7 million in FFY 2011,
$27.7 million in FFY 2012, $26.4 million in FFY
2013, $30 million in FFY 2014, $35.0 million in
FFY 2015, and $30.8 million in FFY 2016.
Whether TANF contingency funds will continue
to be available depends on TANF reauthorization
language or language contained in any other con-
tinuing resolutions.
Maintenance-of-Effort and Match Require-
ments
In order to receive contingency funds, a state
must spend an amount of state dollars equal to
100% of historic state expenditures. Adjusted for
tribal allocations, 100% of historic state expendi-
tures (MOE for TANF contingency funds) totals
$223 million for Wisconsin. In addition, a state
must provide matching funds at the state's federal
medical assistance percentage applicable for the
fiscal year in which funds are awarded.
States must complete an annual reconciliation
to determine how much, if any, of the contingen-
cy funds received in a fiscal year may be retained
based on maintenance-of-effort and matching
funds expended. If, based on the annual reconcil-
iation, it is determined that the state failed to
meet the maintenance-of-effort and/or matching
requirements, then the state must pay back all, or
a portion, of the contingency funds. These funds
must be paid back within one year after it is de-
termined that the state is no longer a needy state.
The one-year period begins after the state fails to
meet the definition of "needy" for three consecu-
tive months.
If a state fails to pay back the contingency
funds, the state's TANF block grant for the next
fiscal year is reduced by the amount of contin-
gency funds that was required to be paid back.
Federal Child Care Program and Funding
The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is
81
a federal funding source for child care subsidies
and quality improvement. The term "CCDF" does
not actually appear in the federal statutes, but ra-
ther is derived from regulatory nomenclature to
refer to two different funding sources: the Child
Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
Act and the Social Security Act.
CCDF provides a combination of discretion-
ary and entitlement funds for child care services
for low-income families and to improve the
quality and supply of child care for all families.
States receiving CCDF funding must: (a) support
child care workforce training and professional
development; (b) develop and use early learning
and developmental guidelines; (c) develop or en-
hance a tiered quality rating system for child care
providers and services; and (d) improve the sup-
ply and quality of child care programs and ser-
vices for infants and toddlers.
States must submit three-year plans to DHHS,
in conformance with federal requirements, outlin-
ing how child care programs will be adminis-
tered. The plan must establish that the state has
conducted a cost estimate or statistically valid
and reliable survey of the market rates for child
care. States are also required to submit disaggre-
gated data on children and families receiving
subsidized child care to DHHS every quarter and
aggregate data annually. States must also report
error rates and improper payments.
The Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 2014 reauthorized the program
through federal fiscal year 2020. Pursuant to the
Act, states are authorized to request the Secretary
of DHHS for relief from any provision of federal
law (including a regulation, policy, or procedure)
affecting the delivery of child care services with
federal funds that conflicts with any CCDBG re-
quirement.
Financing
States receive CCDBG discretionary funds
based on each state's share of children under age
five, the state's share of children receiving free or
reduced-price lunches, and state per capita in-
come. There is no state matching requirement for
discretionary funds. Discretionary funds must be
obligated in the year received or in the following
year. Unused funds are reallocated.
Entitlement funds under the Social Security
Act are allocated to states in two components.
First, each state receives a fixed amount based on
funding received under the three child care pro-
grams previously authorized under AFDC. These
funds are often referred to as "mandatory" funds.
States are not required to match mandatory enti-
tlements, which remain available until expended.
Second, after the mandatory entitlements are
allocated, any remaining entitlement funds are
distributed under the Social Security Act accord-
ing to each state's share of children under age 13.
States must meet maintenance-of-effort and
matching requirements for these funds. Specifi-
cally, states must spend all of their "mandatory"
entitlement funds plus state funds equal to 100%
of the amount spent in FFY 94 or FFY 95,
whichever is higher, under the AFDC-related
child care programs. In addition, states must pro-
vide matching funds at the medicaid matching
rate (approximately 58% in Wisconsin). Match-
ing funds must be spent within the year received
or obligated in the year received and spent within
the next fiscal year.
Wisconsin's CCDF funding for FFY 2016 to-
taled $95.2 million, which is made up of the fol-
lowing allocations: (a) $41.6 million in discre-
tionary funds; (b) $24.5 million in mandatory en-
titlement funds; and (c) $29.1 million in match-
ing entitlement funds (including re-allotted FFY
2015 federal matching funds). Tribes in Wiscon-
sin received $1.8 million for FFY 2016.
Eligibility
Under the federal CCDF program, states are
82
allowed to provide services to children in fami-
lies with income equal to or less than 85% of the
state median income for a family of the same
size. Family assets may not exceed $1 million.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau Ameri-
can Community Survey, the estimated median
income for a Wisconsin family of four in 2015 is
$88,133 (85% of which is equal to $74,913). As
noted, Wisconsin limits initial eligibility for the
W-2 child care program to families with income
of no more than 185% of the federal poverty lev-
el ($44,955 for a family of four in 2016), who
remain eligible until income exceeds 200% of
poverty ($48,600 for a family of four in 2016).
The children must be less than 13 years old
and living with parents who are working or en-
rolled in school or training, or be in the need of
protective services. Federal regulations also al-
low, at the state's option, children over the age of
12 and under 19 to be eligible if the child is phys-
ically or mentally incapable of caring for himself
or herself.
The Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 2014 established a 12-month eligi-
bility redetermination period for CCDF families
regardless of temporary changes in participation
in work, training, or education activities and
changes in income (so long as income does not
exceed the federal threshold amount of 85% of
state median income). Thus, the eligibility re-
quirements under the CCDF program are general-
ly considered to be met for a period of 12
months. States have the option to terminate assis-
tance prior to eligibility redetermination if a par-
ent loses employment, but must continue assis-
tance for at least three months to allow for job
search.
Furthermore, the CCDBG Act of 2014 re-
quires states to implement a graduated phase out
of assistance for participating families whose in-
come has increased above the state eligibility
limit at re-determination but not by enough to
exceed the federal eligibility threshold. DCF in-
dicates that Wisconsin meets the phase-out re-
quirement by using an financial eligibility exit
threshold of 200% compared to an initial thresh-
old of 185%.
Federal CCDBG funds do not guarantee child
care to an eligible family. However, single par-
ents with children under the age of six who can-
not find child care may not be penalized for fail-
ure to engage in work activities.
Use of Funds
There are a number of federal provisions re-
lated to the states' use of CCDBG funds. These
requirements include:
a. Federal law requires states to use at least
70% of their total entitlement funds for child care
services for families that are trying to become
independent of TANF through work activities
and families at risk of becoming dependent on
TANF. States must ensure that a substantial por-
tion of remaining funds is used to provide assis-
tance to other low-income working families.
b. CCDBG funds may be used for child
care services provided on a sliding fee scale.
Federal regulations specify that fees be based on
family size and income. States are also allowed to
waive child care fees for families with incomes at
or below the poverty level. Payment rates must
ensure equal access for eligible children as com-
pared to services provided to children whose par-
ents are not eligible for child care subsidies.
c. CCDBG funds may be used to establish
or support a system of local or regional child care
resource and referral organizations.
d. States are required to spend the following
percentages of their child care allotments (discre-
tionary and entitlements) to improve the quality
of child care: (1) no less than 7% in FFY 2016
and 2017; (2) no less than 8% in FFY 2018 and
83
2019; and (3) no less than 9% in each fiscal year
after FFY 2019. In addition, by FFY 2017 at least
3% of such funds must be spent to improve the
quality of care for infants and toddlers each year.
e. Child care providers must meet all state
and local registration, licensing, and regulatory
requirements in order to receive federal funds.
States are also required to have licensing re-
quirements in effect. States must establish mini-
mum health and safety standards covering pre-
vention and control of infectious diseases (in-
cluding immunization), building and physical
premises safety, and health and safety training.
f. Parents must be given an option to enroll
their children with a provider under contract with
the state or be given a certificate or voucher to
receive services from an eligible provider of the
parent's choice. Eligible providers may also in-
clude individuals age 18 and older who provide
child care for their grandchildren, great grand-
children, nieces or nephews, or siblings if the
provider lives in a separate residence.
g. There are specific federal requirements in
regard to sectarian providers of child care ser-
vices. Funds received through direct grants or
contracts with a government agency may not be
used for any sectarian purpose or activity, includ-
ing religious worship, and instruction. However,
a sectarian provider that receives a child care cer-
tificate or voucher from a parent is not so re-
stricted.
h. No more than 5% of a state's federal
child care allotment may be used for administra-
tive costs.
i. States must conduct background checks
covering the previous ten years of child care pro-
viders and their employees who receive support
via CCDBG-funded programs. Child care pro-
viders which receive funding from CCDBG pro-
grams may not employ any individual who: (1)
refuses to consent to a criminal background
check, (2) knowingly makes a materially false
statement in connection with such a background
check, (3) is registered or is required to be regis-
tered on a state sex offender registry or the Na-
tional Sex Offender Registry, or (4) has been
convicted of one or more specified felonies, such
as child abuse, kidnapping, and drug-related of-
fenses.
